Tugs on the Nonexistant Heartstrings
by Dahlia Imagine
Summary: Meg Shepherd is the newest member of the SGH family, along with her boyfriend. MerDer, Alex/Izzy, Mark/Addison...
1. Welcome to My Life

I don't own a thing. I don't even know if anyone will like this, but it's playing in my head.

----

Meredith Grey was not having the best day. It was Monday, meaning that it was the beginning of another hellish week. Everything about everything was awful, and as she mentally summarized her situation, she only felt worse about life in general. Denny was dead. Izzy was practically narcoleptic she slept so much, and while she'd left the prom with Finn, she hadn't seen him since he dropped her home all those weeks ago. All in all, it promised to be another awful week at Seattle Grace.

They walked into the hospital slowly, just the two of them since Izzy had held to her resolution not to be a surgeon. George was quieter these days- they were all quieter- but that morning almost seemed like the calm before the storm. They ignored the usual whispers as they walked through, going up to the locker room and changing out of their street clothes to scrubs and a lab coat. When Bailey walked in they all clumped and tried to pay attention as she assigned work for the day.

"Karev, you're still with Dr. Montgomery Shepherd, Yang, you're with Dr. Torres, O'Malley, you're with me today, and Grey you're with Dr. Shepherd."

"Can't George take Torres? I've been with her almost a week-"

"I'm sick of the vagina squad, seriously can't I just come back?"

Bailey looked at Cristina and Alex as if they had taken leave of their senses.

"Did I say it was okay to argue? I don't want to hear any argument- nada, none- you all are _still_ in the pits of hell in my mind and after the stunts you pulled, nothing is going to get you out of there for a long, long time. Do I make myself clear?"

They all nodded and she looked back at her chart.

"Good. Because we're getting another intern."

All four heads snapped up, and looked at her in disbelief.

"Don't even think about it. Dr. Carmichael will be joining us starting today. He's just out of Brookings Academy. I trust you've all heard of that prestigious, hallowed institution?"

Again, they nodded. Brookings Academy was one of the most well known schools in the US. It was a boarding school that began with kids at the age of five, and progressed them with an advanced education until the age of twelve, when they could elect to finish out the remainder of their years there with simple degrees in any field they chose, or to completely pick one field and specialize it. For those who chose medicine, they began with textbook learning until the age of seventeen, when they essentially started medical school, and worked at Brookings Hospital, which was also (coincidentally) one of the foremost hospitals on the east coast.

"He's twenty-four years old and one of the brightest in his class. And, for some reason he decided to come out here. So. We're very lucky to have him."

The message couldn't have been clearer. Make the new intern feel at home.

"He should be by sometime this morning, and I'll send him to assist one of you when I meet him. Until then, go find your attending."

They all trotted away like good little puppies, the exception being George who followed Bailey down the hall.

"Brookings, huh?"

"My mom tried to get me in there. I couldn't even get an interview."

Alex shrugged.

"They're like super selective, right?"

Meredith nodded.

"Yeah. My mom once got called to give a guest lecture- she acted like God had been on the phone himself."

"I bet this guy's a total prick. Completely full of himself."

"Gee, Alex. You should get along with him pretty well then."

"Save it Grey. I didn't screw my boss in the on-call room. On prom night."

"Whatever. I'll call and check up on Izzy at lunch."

She sighed, and walked away to find Derek. After the prom, everyone's first concern had been Izzy. Alex had simply elected to live at the house with them all weekend, and had therefore been temporarily admitted into their little club. In which they discussed Meredith's love life. They had all stayed away from the subject of Denny, and hoped that Izzy changed her mind about going back to medicine.

Since she'd walked away from him that night at the prom, things had been beyond cold between them. From what she understood, he'd told Addison what had happened, and the two of them were also in limbo. After everything that happened that night, the hospital was busier than ever, and Meredith had the feeling that both of the Shepherds were too exhausted to discuss whether or not they wanted to try for marital bliss.

"Dr. Shepherd?"

He was filling out charts at the nurse's station, and looked up briefly when he saw her. The past three weeks had seen him shed a few pounds, and the difference could be seen in his eyes, as well as his more limber body.

"Dr. Grey. Good. You're here. I have Mrs. Cattoni in room 234, she's just been admitted, can you take her history, and then see to the rest of the patients on the list? It should take a little bit of time. I'm needed for a consult downstairs, but when I get back we can go through again."

"Sure."

She took the list and the top chart, and went to go meet Mrs. Cattoni.

The exchange with Derek had probably been the longest they'd had since the night of the prom. They were both living in a slow motion world, just trying to get by. She hated that there was such a distance between them, but welcomed the absence of constant pain.

Mrs. Cattoni was a pleasant woman who had been admitted because of severe seizures. She was just thirty-three, and had sweet features and a nice smile. Meredith took down her history and then moved on to Mr. Frankelin. Almost an hour later, she was just finishing up with her fourth patient, Mrs. Hale, and still had three more to go. There was a light knock on the door, and she turned to see an extremely attractive man looking in.

"Hi."

"Hi. I'm looking for Dr. Grey?"

"That's me."

"Hi. I'm Andrew Carmichael. Dr. Bailey sent me up."

Meredith was a bit shocked. She would never have pegged him to be the twenty-four year old new intern from Brookings.

"Well. I'm Meredith, pleased to meet you."

"Andy."

They shook hands, and she tried to concentrate on getting back to work without letting him know just how stunned she was. He seemed the tiniest bit shy and unsure, but as they began to work on the case, completely competent and professional. He had dark hair and a cute smile, and stood to height at about six foot one. With a lean, muscular build he was handsome, but not imposing, and he laughed along with her at a silly joke a patient made.

When Derek came back forty-five minutes later, he seemed a bit taken aback to find her in deep conversation with another man.

"Dr. Shepherd, this is Dr. Carmichael. He's the new intern."

"The new intern? Sorry, I've been so busy these past few days it must have gone over my head. Derek Shepherd."

They shook hands, and Derek immediately jumped into the patient rounds.


	2. Meg

She walked into the hospital, completely aware of herself and everything around her. She didn't gain much attention as she walked, and there was nothing about her that looked lost or awkward. The outfit was perfectly coordinated- black power skirt suit with a feminine curve and a white v-neck top. Black pumps and no jewelry at all, save a diamond ring on her right hand. Her dark brown hair was straight and pulled into a half ponytail with a gold clasp, hanging straight down to her mid back. The make up was minimal- a little hint of color and gloss to give the overall look, and her eyes were a sharp shade of emerald.

She walked passed the employees of the hospital, and straight to the nurse's desk.

"Hi. How can I help you?"

"I'm here to see Dr. Shepherd… Dr. Derek Shepherd."

The nurse looked a little amused and slightly annoyed.

"Do you have an appointment? He's _quite _busy."

The girl simply smiled beautifully.

"I'm sure he'll see me. Tell him that Meg's here."

The nurse shot her another dubious look, and picked up the phone. Paging him, she waited until it rang.

"Dr. Shepherd? This is Admitting. I have a _Meg_ here to see you?...yes…yes. Alright."

She hung up the phone.

"He'll be right down."

"Thank You."

She went to sit in the waiting area, and put her Prada tote bag on the seat next to her. To everyone else, she looked like a beautiful woman, waiting patiently for whatever it was that had brought her to the hospital. Inside, she was fidgeting like a three year old in church. She didn't actually have patience. She could project it, but not truly experience it. Especially in anxious situations. Like the one she was in at that moment. It had been almost a year since she'd even seen him, and she was hell hopping mad at him for any number of things.

"Meg?"

She stood and turned around to look at him. He was thinner than he'd been when they'd seen each other last, and he looked more tired than any point she could remember. Other than that, not much had changed.

"Dad."

Derek had always felt that life had a way of coming round to bite you in the ass. It had been that way with Addison, and it had been that way with Meredith, when he'd had to break her heart- and his own- and pick his wife. He lived each day expecting the unexpected in the world of medicine, and even further when he expected his love life to blow up in his face with the only two women he'd ever really cared about in a romantic sense. Seeing Meg standing in the waiting room didn't feel like life was biting him in the ass.

It felt like an almighty shove from God.

"Meg."

He walked over and enveloped her in his arms, holding her tightly to his own body. She smelled of expensive perfume and vanilla and entirely too old.

"Baby. What are you doing here."

She gave a small shrug, and picked up her tote bag.

"I had to talk to you. Share some news. Do you have time?"

He nodded, completely in awe of the fact that his daughter was standing in the same room as him, let alone the same city, state or country.

"Yeah. Yeah. Just give me a minute."

He walked to the admit desk and picked up the phone. Dialing up to the second floor, he told the nurse's desk he was going to be unavailable for an hour, and to let his interns know. Then he called Addison's voicemail and left an extremely brief message.

"Meg's here."

Hanging up, he turned back to his daughter and gestured for her to follow me.

"The cafeteria's open. It's not that bad. Nice outside courtyard."

"Sure."

They walked through the hospital, trying to make small talk.

"Was your flight okay?"

"Yes. Lovely."

"What did you fly?"

"United. Just from New York."

"Ah."

"The city seems nice."

"Yeah. I actually kind of love it."

At the counter, he ordered a black coffee, and she took a non fat chi. Showing her outside, he sat across from her and studied the woman that his little girl had become. She had always been beautiful; a mix of her parents, and the best attributes of both. She'd grown up to be a stunning beauty, and it made his heart ache to think of how long it had really been since she came into his life. .

"So. I'm sure you're wondering what I'm doing here. Popping in out of the blue."

"I'm pleasantly surprised. I've missed you so much."

"I've been in the city all weekend, actually. I've just been exceedingly busy. I wanted to see you before I left."

"Wow. That's…that's a conversation opener. What were you doing in Seattle."

"I've decided that I'm going to train here."

He was silent for a full twenty seconds, staring at her in shock.

"Train in Seattle?"

"Yes. The facilities at the arena are the best on the west coast, and I needed to get out of the east coast training scene."

"That's fantastic. That's better than fantastic."

"I was hoping you would say that. After four years spent between New York and Switzerland and Russia, I'm ready to stay in one place. Really work."

"Charev is coming with you of course?"

"Of course. He's had a house here for years, from when he used to train Nancy, and he's got family. That's part of the reason for the move. He's been supporting my career with his life for quite sometime, and he's getting older. His daughter's getting married."

"That's right. I'd completely forgotten that he was from here."

She nodded and had some of her tea.

"When are you moving up?"

"Two weeks. I just came out to view some houses."

"_Houses_."

"Yes. The Brookings houses. They have two here."

"Ah."

"You remember the system, right?"

Of course he did. Brookings Academy had a million different perks, but one the most amazing ones was the amount of real estate that the school owned. They bought houses in every major city and rented them out, capitalizing and often times making more money than the house had been on sale for. When students or alums needed a place to live, the house was theirs for as long as an arrangement was agreed upon. It was a singularly fantastic system that had shocked the hell out of him when he'd first heard about it. Considering what he paid for it, it ought to be.

"So they're giving you a house."

"Yes."

There was silence between them for a long moment, and Derek felt his heart sink a little.

"This is a bit awkward."

"Yes. It is. We haven't spent much time together in the past year. What with you moving away unexpectedly, and leaving a message on my voicemail while I was in Russia."

"I'm sorry, Meg, I-"

"Are you still with her?"

He stopped, sighed, and nodded.

"Yes."

"Pity."

"Meg-"

"No, no. Forget I said that. She's your wife. I didn't come to be antagonistic. I just came to let you know."

She stood up and put her arm through the tote straps.

"Where are you going?"

"My flight leaves in at noon."

"You really didn't work much time in for me, did you."

"Frankly, I didn't think you deserved a mass amount of consideration."

That hurt. He could feel the anger radiating off her and winced.

"I know. You're right. I'm an ass and an awful father. But with you moving here-"

"I'll be very busy. And I didn't move here for you. I just came to tell you so that Grandma didn't. I don't know how often we'll see each other, and I'm plenty mad."

"I know."

"That being said…maybe we can…have lunch sometime."

"I'd like that."

She nodded and impulsively, moved in to give him a hug. He held on to her and kissed her forehead, then reluctantly let her go.

"Do you need a ride?"

"No. There's a car waiting."

"Of course there is."

She smiled one last time, and left him standing in the hospital cafeteria courtyard, wondering where the hell time had gone."

----

On his way up to his interns, he ran into Addison. She was standing in the stairwell, looking like the hounds of hell were at her heels. When she saw him, her whole body froze before rushing into 'anxiety' mode.

"She's here."

"She was."

"So she's gone."

"For now."

"When will she be back?"

"Two weeks. She's moving here, Addie."

Shock went through her spine, and she turned to follow him as he continued to make his way up the stairs.

"You're kidding me."

"I'm not, actually. She's moving to Seattle to train."

"There are perfectly good ice arena's in New York."

"Well, she wanted out. And to be honest, I'm glad. Because it's been too long since I had some quality time with her."

"That isn't your fault. She's been in between the US and Europe for the past two years."

"No excuse. She's my daughter."

"Adopted daughter."

He paused and looked at her for a long moment before shaking his head and continuing on his way.

"I'm going to forget you said that. Maybe you should stay out of it. I'm going to fix my relationship with her. If it takes me the rest of our lives to get that bond back, so be it. But I'm going to fix it."

"Like you fixed our relationship by sleeping with Meredith on prom night?"

"Not now, Addison. I _don't want to fight right now_."

They entered his hallway, and continued walking to the nurse's station.

"Are you really going to deny the fact that she was part of the reason for driving us apart in the first place."

"She had nothing to do with it."

"Please, Derek. She's hated me from day one."

He sighed in frustration and put the chart he had picked up back on the counter with a loud _clank_.

"You never really tried."

"There's only so much you can try when you have a child living in your house who resents you with every atom of your being."

"**_Enough_**. I'm not going to discuss this with you right now."

"Fine."

"Fine."

She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving him standing at the empty nurse's station.

"Are you okay?"

He turned to see Meredith standing in the doorway of one of the patient rooms, looking beautiful as ever in her exhaustion.

"Where's Dr. Carmichael?"

"The Chief came in to talk to him. I think they're going over contracts."

"Oh."

"Are you okay?"

He paused, regarding her straight on for the first time since they'd made love on prom night.

"No. No, I'm not."

"Want to talk about it?"

He stared at her, thinking of all that they'd been through. He was going to brush off the situation when he realized that she deserved to hear it from him. Addison had been a surprise. She deserved better than that.

-----

Please review! I promise it gets better!


	3. Trip down memory lane

Derek pulled her into an empty exam room and sat in the visitor's chair as she cautiously sat on the bed. They were treading on thin ice, and neither was eager to see themselves crash through and drown. Crossing one leg over the other and sliding down in the chair a bit he sighed. She looked so wary of him, sitting on the empty bed, that he could almost feel the pain radiating off her.

"I have a daughter."

"You have a daughter."

She took a deep breath and nodded, and though his first instinct was to reach out and pull her into his arms, he resisted and stayed in the chair.

"Her name is Meg. Margaret Elise Baker Shepherd. I had another best friend growing up- Sean. Grew up next door to each other. Our whole families were friends. We were practically brothers, Sean and Mark and I. Anyway. He had this girlfriend- Tracy. We'd known her forever too. High school sweethearts and even before that. We all went to college together. But then, our sophomore year, Tracy got pregnant. Unexpected, completely unplanned. And…they were thrilled. They refused to even be upset. Just took it in stride. Got married, waited for her, and then when she came…she was beautiful."

"They sound like wonderful people."

"They were. The very best. They named me godfather, and one of Tracy's sisters godmother. She was years younger though, and we went on with life. They had moved into an apartment near campus by then, and I moved in my junior year. I went to med school, Sean started working for an insurance company; he was unbelievable with numbers. I met Addison, we started dating, and got married. About a year after we got married, Sean and Tracy were in a car accident. They were on the freeway when a tire on a semi blew. Killed instantly. And…in the will, they named me guardian."

"Oh my god."

"I know."

He shook his head and gave a funny chuckle, verging on hysterical.

"She came to live with me, and I swore that I would be her father. That I'd find a way to be the dad she would never have. But she'd never really warmed to Addison. They just couldn't have that kind of relationship, and over time, it caused stress. My family's well off. Very well off. My dad was a lawyer, he had connections. He got her into this private school, and for years she lived with us and attended school there. But she also just happened to be…amazing, at ice skating. A complete natural. We got her lessons, and before long she had a coach. And she started to train competitively."

"That's pretty fantastic."

Derek smiled, thinking back on all the times they'd had at competitions.

"We would have meets on weekends. My parents got involved too. She's one of the foremost skaters in New England; won junior nationals and came in second last year. But her coach trained extensively in Russia and Switzerland, and she's been shuttling between all three countries for the past year or so. Getting as much technique help as she can."

Meredith nodded. Of all the things that he'd kept from her, she would have thought that a child would have been the worst. But the way he spoke about her, he obviously loved her, and he'd gone through so much to be a father, she couldn't help but admire him. Not many men would step up to such a challenge, especially for a child that wasn't theirs.

"How old is she now?"

"Nineteen. She graduated last year, and she's moving here."

"To Seattle."

"To Seattle."

Derek stood and walked over to her, putting one hand on his hip and running the other through his hair.

"I've done a lot wrong in the past year. I lied to you, abused you emotions and made everyone's life hell. But I have to look at this as a gift. I've been absent from her life for too long. She's an amazing girl, and I can't even believe how much she's grown up. I've missed so much."

"But she loves you."

"Yes. She does. I don't deserve it, but she does…and for the next month or so, it's going to be hell. I haven't made a decision about Addison. We haven't talked about what happened. When we do- when we're ready for that conversation, hopefully we can figure something out. You know I how much I care about you. But I have to figure this out. You all deserve better."

"You'll figure it out."

He nodded, and leaned in to kiss her cheek. She wasn't sure why, but she let him do it, before she scurried from the room.

----

Meredith, George, Cristina and Alex sat at one of the tables in the cafeteria courtyard, eating lunch as they discussed the events of the day. Slowly, they were beginning to get back their usual rapport. Even Alex had somewhat mellowed out, and tried to keep the 'selfish egotistical bastard' comments to himself.

"So he has a kid."

"He has a kid."

Cristina snorted.

"You _really _know how to pick them."

"She's not a kid, really. She's nineteen."

"So what, ten years younger than you."

"Yes, Alex thank you. His best friend died and left him guardian. I think it's admirable. And he really loves her. She's an ice skater."

"An ice skater? That's classic."

George took a bite of his sandwich and shook his head.

"But you said she doesn't like Addison."

"Apparently not. But that doesn't mean she'll like me."

"She has no reason to know you."

"_Cristina_!"

"What? Oh come on, Meredith. Nothing's been resolved."

"I know. I'm a dirty mistress."

"Oh come on Grey. Enjoy the title a while. Look. Here's the thing. He came here met you and fell in love. His wife came, he feels obligated to see if it works. But he can't resist you and ends up doing you in the hospital on prom night. Now his kid comes into town, and from the way the She Shepherd was acting, she's none to pleased about it either. So, he'll end up picking you."

George looked at Alex with amazement on his face.

"Wow, Alex. That was really deep."

"She didn't sound pleased?"

Cristina groaned, and flopped back in the chair.

"No, really? She sounded upset?"

"She was pissed. Made me do grunt work all morning, so really this is your boyfriend's fault."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"No, but you're his girlfriend."

"_George_."

"Sorry. Not supportive?"

"No."

"Hey, has anyone seen the new intern?"

Meredith bolted even straighter, and swallowed her diet coke down the wrong tube. When she started sputtering and coughing, Alex absently slammed his palm against her back. She sent him a glare, but recovered her breath quickly.

"Yes. Bailey sent him up to me."

"Well?"

They all leaned a bit closer, and she grinned.

"He's definitely a McSomething."

Cristina grinned, George stared blankly at his sandwich, and Alex groaned.

"But he was a self serving prick, right?"

"Wrong. He's perfect. So nice, so cute-"

"Didn't Bailey say he was like two years old-"

"He's twenty-four. But I can still admit he's incredibly cute."

"So spill. Everything."

"Dark brown hair, slightly Mediterranean looking, six feet at least. Great sense of humor, rectangle wire glasses. He's really smart too. And fantastic with the patients."

"You do realize that this is cradle robbing."

"Come on, George. You're dating an Amazon. Meredith is entitled to rob a cradle or two."

They all laughed except for George who sputtered about Callie not being an Amazon.

"I'm not actually going to do anything with him-"

"She is tall, yes-"

"Leave it, O'Malley. It's not even worth it with these two."

Cristina shot Alex a look.

"So when are you going to make a move on Izzy."

"Like I'd really tell you."

They began to argue on the merits of Alex making a move on Izzy, and George happily took part in the discussion until his pager went off. Groaning, he picked up his tray and muttered something about Bailey being a Nazi. He was followed shortly thereafter by Cristina, who grabbed her phone and stood as well.

"I've gotta go to. I'm gonna call Burke."

"Bye."

She left, leaving Alex and Meredith sitting at the table, quietly finishing their lunch. Meredith had called the house to leave a message for Izzy, who was probably still sleeping.

"I think it's really great what you're doing for Izzy."

"And what is that?"

"Putting your feelings for her aside so you can help her."

"Don't worry. I still want in her frilly pink panties."

"I'm glad we can have these discussions, Alex."

----

I know it's mostly awful. I promise I'll make it better.

Please review!


	4. Welcome, and Welcome Back!

Hey! Just a note. For mental image, Andy is pretty much Rodrigo Santoro in Love Actually (the character of Karl). Only just a tiny bit hotter...I'll post the link to the picture on my author profile if anyone's interested...

----

Meredith returned to the nurses station after lunch, she found Andy sitting there doing post-op notes. He was sitting with all the charts, filling them out and eating an apple.

"Hey."

He looked up and smiled.

"Hey."

"I would have grabbed you for lunch, but I couldn't find you."

"Don't worry, I don't taste very good. You probably did better with the cafeteria food."

They both burst out laughing at the awful joke, but he just winked and continued to fill out charts. She slid into the seat next to him, and grabbed a chart off the top of the pile.

"Has Dr. Shepherd ordered the surgery for Mrs. Cattoni?"

"Yeah. There's a clot in the inner spinal canal."

"You gonna scrub in?"

"Observe."

"Nice."

He nodded and put one more chart on top of the 'finished' pile.

"So. How does a hotshot doctor like you end up in Seattle?"

Laughing he shook his head.

"Hot shot? Am I hot shot? Hmm. I like that…I applied, got accepted, accepted the program and moved. I needed a change. And I have ties in the city."

"You should have lunch with us tomorrow."

"Are you sure you'll all be talked out about the new _hot shot _intern?"

Meredith laughed and shook her head.

"Well, two of the people on our crew live with me, one of them is pretty much my best friend, and the other one has practically been living at my house since…well, for a couple weeks. So by tomorrow, we'll be all talked out."

"Don't worry. I know."

"Know what?"

Andy emitted a sigh and leaned back a bit.

"That a certain Doctor Stevens got involved with a heart transplant patient. And that to get the transplant, she cut his cord. And after the transplant he died and she resigned."

"Yeah. Izzy. She's my roommate."

"How's she doing?"

Meredith paused.

"She's fine. Why would you ask?"

He shrugged and went back to absently filling out the charts.

"Just seems to me that to do all that for him, compromise a brilliant career and deal with the consequences, she must have really loved him."

"She did…she really did."

"So these roommates. What are they like?"

"No way, mister. You first."

He didn't bat an eye.

"I don't have roommates."

"Very funny. Tell me about you?"

"_I'm_ a hot shot doctor…okay, okay. Fine…What do you want to know?"

"Favorite color?"

"Blue."

"Interesting."

"Why?"

"Most surgeons say red."

"Blue. Definitely blue."

"Food?"

"Lasagna."

"City?"

"Paris."

"Oh, a romantic."

"You have no idea, sweetheart."

They both laughed, and she kicked her feet up on the edge of his chair. For some unexplainable reason, she felt comfortable with him. Not in a romantic sense, but she felt like he could and would be a good friend. Despite the age difference, he was a fellow character. Fun and dedicated, but she felt like lurking underneath his cool and calm personality was a whole lot of interesting.

"Okay. Subject in high school. Please don't say biology."

"History, actually."

"Cologne?"

"Valentino Mystery."

"Oh, mysterious man."

"A regular detective."

He opened a bag of peanuts and offered her some. She took a small handful and they popped and cracked them as the sat.

"Ice cream?"

"Mint chocolate chip."

"Family."

"Two brothers and a sister. All older."

"Drink."

"I'm a good old Heineken guy. But I can do a good scotch."

"Wine?"

"Merlot."

"Sophisticated taste."

"I'm a sophisticated guy. What else would be interesting… I was a total jock in school. I did crew. All the way through high school and med school. I played soccer and rugby in high school. I can sing. Moderately well. Mostly in the shower. I love fall and winter. And during said seasons, you'll rarely find me without a scarf. I like scarves."

"A well rounded guy."

"You better believe it. What about you. What's it like living with people from the hospital 24/7?"

"A blessing and a burden."

"I can imagine. Listen. I just want you to know, I was accepted into the program about a month and a half ago. And I said yes almost immediately."

So he hadn't been called in to replace Izzy. She smiled at him and nodded in understanding. His pager went off before she could continue, and he smiled apologetically.

"Bailey. I'll catch you later."

"Yeah. I'll be here."

She saw him only in the surgery, but they were both concerned with Mrs. Cattoni's spine and observing the search for the blood clot. Derek treated her marginally better than he had he previous days, and she felt happy that they were somewhat back on track. At least she didn't have to bother with avoiding him. With the other nurses and doctors in the room, she was just another one of his interns, and it made everything seem a bit better.

The moment she was done with surgery, she showered and went home. It had taken a little longer than expected, but Derek thought that Mrs. Cattoni would be alright. Alex and George had gone home, and Cristina had been off hours ago. Burke was tending to sleep through the night, at last, and would be back in the hospital in just a few weeks. If he was already asleep, Meredith was sure that she'd find the entire pack of interns at her house. She was right, for when she got home, she saw Cristina's motorcycle, and all the lights in the house on. She went to open the door, and had barely made it into the hall when Cristina rounded the corner.

"You're home. Thank God."

"What's wrong. Is Izzy-"

"She's gone nuts."

"What? She was sleeping-"

Cristina gave a sarcastic laugh and shook her head.

"Well she's not sleeping any more. She's very, very active."

Looking at her friend in confusion, Meredith just walked past her and into the kitchen…and understood. The entire place was covered. With an assortment of food, ingredients pots, pans and general culinary things. There were trays of brownies, cookies, cupcakes, two actual cakes, a huge platter of deviled eggs, three different kinds of bread, all sorts of iced desert confections and several pots on the stove that were emitting delicious smells. Food smells, not desert smells.

Izzy stood by the stove, dressed in her pink pullover, jeans, and a frilly white apron. She was stirring the large pot while Alex cut some sort of vegetable on the countertop next to her, and George sat on one of the barstools by the island, drinking a beer and eating a cupcake. When she entered the kitchen, everybody turned to her, and Izzy gave a huge smile.

"Meredith. You're home."

She was looking better than she had in weeks. Her face had been made up just slightly, and her hair had recently been washed. She almost looked like the same old Izzy. Almost.

"Hey, Izzy. What happened?"

She went back to stirring the pot, and keeping an eye on whatever was in the oven.

"I woke up this morning, and realized how long it's been since I baked something. So I used up all the stuff we had in the house. And that made one tray of brownies. So then I went to the grocery store."

"Yeah. I can see that."

Cristina came in behind her and went to sit by George, steeling his beer and taking a swig.

"Um, mine."

"Sucker."

"So I baked some stuff. But then they came home, and you can't really teach this stuff for dinner, can you? Not very healthy. So I'm making dinner. There's spaghetti, and a lasagna in the oven. And I made some chicken parmesan. I guess I was in an Italian mood. Oh, and there's also garlic bread."

Meredith didn't know how to respond, so she just took her coat off and went to throw it on the couch in the living room. Returning to the kitchen, she sat down next to Cristina and picked at her cupcake.

"So. They say there's a new intern."

"Yeah. Andy Carmichael."

"What's he like?"

"Young."

Izzy added some kind of spice to the sauce she was stirring, then made Alex take over while she re-chopped his vegetables. She looked almost at ease. Not as desperate as Meredith thought she might have been to go nuts in the kitchen. The desperation phase must have been over. When she wasn't sleeping, Izzy had been cleaning the house top to bottom with almost obsessive zeal. She had recently started opening up about how she was feeling, and Meredith was hoping that in the coming weeks she might think about returning to the hospital.

"I heard he's cue."

"He is cute. Cute, but young. But nice."

"Brookings?"

"Yeah. But he's completely normal. Not cocky or anything. Alex doesn't have any competition in that department."

"Damn right Grey."

He winked and she rolled her eyes, eating one of the cut up cubes of banana bread. Feeling like some alcohol, she walked to the fridge and grabbed a beer, amazed that with everything already baked and out on the counters, the fridge was still completely packed with food.

"So what's he doing in Seattle."

Shrugging, Meredith went over to sniff at the sauces, and taste some. Her hand was decisively knocked away, and she gave up, going back to the island.

"He hasn't really said. I mean it isn't unheard of. People all over the country apply for this program."

"True. But some of those Brookings kids end up at the top of the food chain immediately."'

"I think he has family here."

"Ah. Girlfriend?"

"Didn't say."

"No, Alex. Stir it faster like this."

She went to demonstrate, completely unaware that he was looking at her and not at the way she was stirring. When she looked back up at him, he just smiled and nodded.

"So. McDreamy has a kid."

"Her name's meg. Why are we talking about this if you know everything?"

"Because, Meredith. The man I loved died, and I've wallowed in my own misery for so long, I want to revel in someone else's."

The words were harsh, but the smile on her face eradicated the blow.

"Glad I can be of assistance."

"Go set the table. Dinner's almost ready."

----

Please review! In the next chapter, more of Andy.


	5. Lunch

Meredith left the house the next morning, feeling better about life. Things with Derek were back to an easier status quo. Izzy was feeling much better, and there was an enormous amount of delicious food in the house. Dinner the previous evening had been wonderful, and Izzy had made Cristina promise that the next time she came, she would bring Burke. She drove to the hospital feeling energized and happy, and an all around better person.

-----

At precisely eight-thirty am, Addison Shepherd sat in a plush green chair opposite her current and newest therapist. She was dressed in a new skirt suit- black, of course- and her favorite pair of pumps. She'd curled her hair again that morning, and worked hard to look as beautifully professional as possible. Dr. Rhinehart, the newest guy, looked at her from across his desk.

"So she's moving to Seattle."

"Yes. It's an unexpected move."

"Tell me about her when she was a little girl."

Addison shook her head slowly, thinking back on a miniature Meg Shepherd.

"She was adorable. Bright, fun. A sunny kid."

"Any activities."

"She played soccer. Kiddie swim team."

"And how old was she when the accident occurred?"

"Just under five."

"But you _never_ got along."

"We did. Almost. I don't know. When she was younger she preferred Derek. Naturally. Before the accident she would let me hold her. Sit on my lap occasionally. Toss a blow up beach ball with me."

"And after the accident."

"She never really made a fuss about me at first. Sometimes she would squeal for Derek instead of me, but she wasn't difficult. As she got older, I just felt like there was some resentment."

"She was passive aggressive."

"Not at all. Highly competitive. No fear of intimacy at all. She loved to be hugged and kissed and held."

"Did she get along with others?"

"Yes. We never had problems with her socializing."

"You feel that she was a problem in the marriage."

Addison paused, rubbing her forehead. She had truly tried to love Meg. Somehow, that love hadn't been returned, and over the years resentment had bloomed. Maybe there was no explanation.

"It was hard for me to accept that Derek was her father but I wasn't her mother. I felt like an outsider. When she hit her teens, I began to push for more. She wasn't a bad kid but I always wanted more than she was willing to offer. Then she began to rebel a bit."

"When did she become a boarding student at school?"

"When she was eleven. She had begun quite formal training, and we all thought that it would be easier for her to just board at school. Derek and I were getting busier by the day and it just wasn't possible for us to always be around."

Dr. Rhinehart nodded and looked over his notes.

"You said she had a relationship with Mark Sloan."

"Yes. She always adored him. He was her favorite uncle."

"And after Derek left for Seattle?"

Giving a grim smile, Addison studied her wedding and engagement rings. They fit her fingers perfectly, but after the prom, she sometimes felt like they didn't belong anymore. Maybe they had ceased to symbolize what they were meant for.

"After Derek left I had almost no contact with her. She knew. We had one large argument when she came back from Russia a week later. She wouldn't speak or maintain contact with me, and I know she denied Mark the same things. But shortly before I left New York I believe they were regaining their relationship."

"How does that make you feel."

"Angry. She blames me for the affair and not him. I deserve the blame, I know, but it seems unfair."

"What's your fear about her coming to Seattle."

Shaking her head, Addison brushed away a few rogue tears.

"I don't know…I just don't know."

----------

Meredith may have been having a good day, but the hospital was not. She was extremely busy with patients, and had only a break around ten-thirty to have any conversation with her friends. When none of her usual group was to be found, she wandered up to the maternity ward (aware that Addison had been called to an emergency surgery only minutes before, and would be absent for hours) to look at the babies. To her complete shock, she found Andy standing at her usual spot, leaning on the rail and looking in on the nursery.

"Hey."

He turned and smiled at her, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Hey yourself. Busy morning, huh?"

"Tell me about it…I'm surprised to find you here."

Andy laughed and crossed his arms.

"I'll keep surprising you. At the Brookings Hospital, the nursery was pretty much the quietist place in the whole hospital. And it was right next to the closest vending machine. I ended up spending quite a bit of time there."

She smiled and turned to the babies.

"Very cute."

"I know. I have women just throwing themselves at me all the time, but I can't stop them."

"Oh I'm sure…I liked to come up here when I first started. Peaceful."

"That it is."

"How long have you actually been in Seattle?"

"Since Friday. Just the weekend."

"Do anything interesting last night?"

"Not at all. Just unpacked boxes. You?"

"Izzy baked. When she really gets into it, she bakes a lot. My kitchen is completely full."

Both of their pagers went off, and they went down to the third floor to attend to Mrs. Cattoni. Meredith hadn't seen Derek all day, since he'd been in a surgery with George, and she wasn't surprised to still find him absent when they asked for an attending. No sooner had Mrs. Cattoni been briefed and found to be recovering nicely, than her patient on the second floor with Bailey had a bout of seizures and she was stuck for the rest of the morning running labs and comparing test results.

Consequently, when Isobel Stevens walked up to the nurse's station on the fourth floor of Seattle Grace Hospital at exactly eleven-forty-five am, Dr. Meredith Grey was nowhere to be found. She looked even better than she had the day before, though she was still uncomfortable being in the hospital. Izzy had dressed carefully; blue jean skirt, maroon v-neck long sleeved shirt, sandals and a headband. In her hand, she carried a round wicker basket with a blue checked blanket laid on top. There just hadn't been enough room in the kitchen to preserve everything, and she was in the spirit of good will. She looked down the hallway but resigned herself to the fact that Meredith was probably in a surgery and wouldn't have time to have lunch with her anyway. Izzy was about to give up when a man walked up to the station and laid a chart on top of three others sitting on the counter.

"You must be Izzy."

She turned to look at him, confused and surprised.

"Hi."

"Andrew Carmichael."

Nodding, she shook hands with him and placed the basket on the counter.

"You're the new intern."

"I am."

"How did you know who I was?"

"Lucky guess."

He was dressed in the lab coat and scrubs, and even in them managed to look incredibly attractive. Izzy understood just what Meredith was talking about.

"She just got called to surgery."

"I'm sorry, who?"

"Meredith. That is who you were coming to meet?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm sorry. I was."

He nodded and lightly lifted the basket cover to peek inside.

"Did you two have a lunch date?"

"No. I thought I'd surprise her."

"She'll feel bad that you came all the way out here. And the others are actually in as well. Dr. O'Malley scrubbed in on hers, Dr. Yang is with Torres about to go in, and Dr. Karev is still in a delivery."

"They're all quite busy. I really just came to see if they were free. So I'll just leave this for you and the nurses and the other doctors. If you see Meredith, just let her know I stopped by, won't you?"

She was trying to move down the hall, but stopped short when he spoke again.

"Let me buy you lunch."

"Excuse me?"

Izzy turned to face him, shock and disbelief written all over her.

"Everyone's been called away. _And_, I know I'm not _much _company, but according to your friend I'm a hot shot doctor. That has to count for something."

He had sidled up to her while he was talking and Izzy stared at him in shock.

"You want to buy me lunch."

"I do, in fact."

"Why?"

"No particular reason. If you've got plans, don't let me interrupt. There's a long list of enema's that I'm just putting off, but why do tomorrow what you can do today, hey?"

He moved back to the nurse's station and took the chart back out, and Izzy felt herself telling him to stop.

"I'd love to have lunch with you."

---------

He took her out of the hospital. She wasn't quite sure how he did it, because when she was an intern she hadn't even had time to breathe let alone leave the hospital, but he had a few words with the head nurse and then showed her to the parking lot where he opened the passenger door of his Honda Pilot and helped her in before driving them to a small little café where they were immediately seated and served. They ended up sharing a bowl of cold salad pasta, and ordering soda with it, since he had to return to work.

"When did you go to Paris?"

Somehow they'd gotten on the subject of travel, and she was fascinated by all the places that he'd been.

"My senior year of high school. The soccer team did an international tournament hosted in France."

"Wow. I've never really been anywhere."

He shrugged, having some more of the coke.

"Traveling is what you make it."

"How so?"

"Paris is beautiful…romantic…but you can have Paris everywhere. The reason it's so fantastic is because you know you're in Paris and you're determined to get the maximum experience and bleed each thing that happens full of happiness. You can do that anywhere. Which isn't to say it isn't a great city. It is. And I like traveling. But you can have just as much fun in Paris, France as you potentially could in Paris, Illinois."

"That's deep, man."

"Someone told me that years ago."

"So. Where else have you been?"

"I went to Hawaii with my family once…my brother got married in London. His wife is British. But I was there a grand total of three days and didn't see anything but the church and the reception area…when I was in high school we occasionally went to St. Tropez for the summer."

"Sounds like a fun life."

"It is if you can make yourself live like that."

"What do you mean?"

He shook his head and pushed some more of the pasta at her.

"That is a conversation for another day."

"Oh, I can't wait. What do your parents do?"

"My father is in real estate. My mom works for a charity fund in the city."

"Did you see them often?"

"Not really, no. I didn't see much of anyone. The Brookings program- _all _Brookings programs- are pretty self contained."

She had some more of her own coke and kept eye contact with him as she put it back down.

"Why did you move to Seattle?"

"I have some friends in the city. And I wanted to work for Richard Webber. He's pretty respected over there."

She nodded and forked the last of the pasta into her plate.

"Are you going to ask me why I did it?"

"No."

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter."

"How so."

He shrugged and glanced at the fantastic view of the harbor that window next to them afforded. Playing with the rim of the glass, he paused and looked down at the watery/coke like remains. The restaurant was a quaint little Italian place that had a nice menu and a nice view. He'd only been there once, but he was glad he picked it. Something told him that taking Izzy out of the hospital had actually been the right decision.

"You do things, Izzy. You make choices, you make decisions, you make judgment calls. There are consequences, you deal with them. I think you can regret circumstances, and regret the way you act, but it all pretty much boils down to the fact that you do things, and time goes on. You can't change what happened, and you can't wallow in the past. You loved Denny- that's his name, right? Okay. So you loved Denny. He loved you. You made a call, and he lived. And then he died. And you can torture yourself with the knowledge for years. If you hadn't cut it would he be alive right now? Tomorrow or next year? Or would have died. Would he have gotten the heart and lived a full life or not even lived to get the heart. Would Dr. Burke have been shot? Would he have missed the bullet by a minute or two or altogether? Or would he have walked right into it again? It goes on in circles. It comes down to whether or not you can believe in what you did. You decide if you need it bad enough to go prove yourself- prove _to _yourself- or if you can give it up and become a pastry chef. And I can't help you with the decision either way. Whether I'm your best friend or a guy who you just met an hour ago and who offered to take you to lunch because he wanted to get to know you."

She didn't speak after that, and with the exception of settling the check, neither did he. Andy simply helped her back to the car, opened and closed her door for her, drove her back to the hospital, and to the car. Before she got out, she lightly squeezed his hand and gave a small smile. Then turned on her own car and drove back to the house, leaving him to return to the hospital and continue with his patients .

----

Long speech. I know. Please review!


	6. Sleepless in Seattle

One week later, Izzy returned to the hospital. She went in to see the chief and had a very long meeting, discussing her past actions and her future goals. She was still adamant about not becoming a general surgeon, but she showed some interest in following into Addison's field, and despite her reservations about the She-Shepherd, she agreed to go work on the maternity floor. The day she started working again, Meredith immediately found Andy, who was doing pre-rounds on the fourth floor.

"Thank you."

He turned to her from his chart and smiled.

"For what?"

"For helping Izzy to come back."

Shaking his head, he walked out of the patient's room, and she followed.

"I didn't do anything. Izzy decided that this was the place for her."

"Well, whatever you did do helped enormously. So thanks."

"My pleasure."

"And, in honor of her returning to work and embracing life again, she's having a dinner tonight. You're specifically invited. It's going to be a party."

"Me? The hotshot doctor, or me Baby?"

Alex had recently taken to calling him Baby-Surgeon. Both Meredith and Izzy insisted that the title couldn't possibly apply because it made them think of Dirty Dancing and Jennifer Grey, and that was just weird. He continued to call him Baby. Unlike George and the nicknames Alex thought up for him, Andy would simply roll his eyes and continue to do his job. He was exceptionally bright and had an amazing memory. Even Cristina was impressed with his nanosecond knowledge of any illness, disease or treatment. It was a rare day to find him slow, and he gave patients his personal attention without being dragged down into the abyss of emotions.

He often hung out with them at Joe's after work, caught lunch with them every day, and had immediately become 'one of them'. He and Alex ribbed each other good naturedly about life and sports and each other's manliness, sat around in the basement with George and Meredith, or went through witty sparring matches with Cristina in the locker room. Even Callie seemed to like him, and all seven of them could be found at the house just hanging out after a long day. Izzy loved to bake him little desert goodies and send them home with him in a basket, and a couple mornings a week, he started running with Meredith and Cristina.

Other than that, nobody really new much about him. He didn't evade questions and he didn't act mysteriously, but nobody had ever been to his house, and there was a good deal about him that was unknown.

"Maybe he lives on a plot of land next to Derek's in a trailer."

"Yeah Izzy, maybe so."

They were preparing for the dinner that everyone was coming to. The only addition to their usual group was Burke, who had returned to work, and was almost completely recovered. Though he liked Andy as much as Shepherd or any of the other surgeons, it was Bailey who shocked everyone.

She loooooved him.

He was allowed to wake her up when she was sleeping, request certain surgeries with certain doctors (up to a point) and to top it off, hardly complained about everything. Even when she did _occasionally _get irritated with him and put him in sutures for days on end. It was like he was built to withstand tough situations and make the best.

Meredith and Cristina privately thought that she loved him so much because he had a knack for getting the baby to quiet down immediately, under any situation. He would often mind him in the gallery while Bailey was in surgery, and didn't seem to mind becoming a babysitter. Surprisingly, nobody could dislike him. He was just too charming, in a genuine sort of way.

"Wait till you see his bedside manor. Unbelievable. I actually had to call him for help when Mr. Lombardo refused to let me prep him for surgery."

"He must be good. I bet his girlfriend's sweet."

"He has a girlfriend?"

Izzy turned to look at Meredith from where she was cutting the celery.

"Yeah. She lives in Seattle."

"Interesting."

"Yeah. They've been together for like, three years."

"I bet he'd be a good boyfriend."

"I know, right? Too bad he's too young for us to find out."

------

The dinner went splendidly. Everyone enjoyed the food, the wine and the deserts, and stayed talking till the late hours. Burke and Cristina left first, since Andy and Alex stayed to help Izzy clean up. Andy took off not long after that, and as usual, Alex and Izzy went upstairs to her room to fall asleep. Their relationship seemed to be completely platonic (at least on Izzy's side), but everyone knew that she couldn't sleep without him there. Several times he'd left to go home, and would get a call from her in the middle of the night, pleading for him to come over.

It was after they had gone up that George and Callie followed suit, and finally Meredith, who was back in limbo land. She hadn't had another heart to heart with Derek since that first day of Andy's, but he hadn't been around much. He was constantly in surgery, taking on much more than usual, and throwing himself into his work. Addison seemed to be on the warpath as well, making Alex an unhappy camper.

Not wanting to think about the hospital or the doctors or anybody else's problems, she slipped into bed and wished for a dreamless sleep.

--------

While the interns, Burke, and Callie were enjoying a beautiful dinner, Meg Shepherd was on her practice ice, trying to land a triple-axle. She was dressed in black spandex pants that were cut and hemmed at her mid calf over a long-sleeved black leotard and a hot pink t-shirt. Her hair was in a long ponytail, and her face bare of make up. Every muscle in her body ached from the practice- she'd been at the arena for over twelve hours, and she was ready to keel over. From his spot by the railing Pavel Charevksi sighed and pushed pause on the cd player.

"No, no. You're dropping the back leg too quickly. You can do the triple in your sleep. Just land one for me and we can go back to a straight approach."

"But the slide into it just makes the turn awkward."

"Try it again."

She did, and fell on her ass. He sighed and beckoned her over. She skated slowly, and toe picked her stop just next to him so she could lean over the walled railing and grab her bottle of water.

"What's wrong? You're not concentrating."

"I am. I'm exhausted. I've only been here two days. I'm tired."

"You're always tired. You'll always be tired. You know this…have you called your father back?"

When she arrived in Seattle, she'd left her father a message that she was back, and he'd returned her call with a voice mail saying that he'd love to meet up when she was free. Part of her wanted to. Meg had missed him the past few years; they just hadn't had the same relationship. Part of her was content with the new life she'd started and the way it was leading. She was finally an adult. Able to make her own decisions and deal with the consequences.

"No. I haven't."

"Any particular reason?"

"No."

"You have to eventually try to stop acting like the pigheaded selfish daughter you are."

"I am _not _pigheaded. Selfish, maybe."

He crossed his arms over his chest, and looked at her, amused.

"You're the most pigheaded student I've ever had."

"Absolutely not true."

"Don't be absurd. Everything about you is pigheaded. Especially when it comes to your skating. You're beyond that point tonight, but I've seen you did your heels into the proverbial mud more times than I can count."

"Name one time."

"Barcelona last year. They tried to change the line up and you dogged the commissioner of the tournament till he agreed to put you in last."

"I _won _that competition, I'll have you remember."

"Yes. But there's nothing to win here, so I can't understand why you're being pigheaded. He wants a relationship. He made a mistake, he's sorry. And you feel left behind and left out. He let me take you all around the world, and then just ran here. But you need to forgive him and move on. Your father cares about you. It isn't a competition."

After years with Pavel, there was nothing that she hid from him. Her life was an open book, and he knew every word.

"Do it tonight. Let your mind get over it so you can concentrate when you come tomorrow. Basta. Finicima."

She nodded, and opened the side door to let herself off the ice. The practice arena was built like a warehouse, with lots of windows and lights coming around, but it was dark, and the place was getting colder. It had been Pavel's old coach who had built the training complex, and now Pavel had brought her to Seattle to complete her training.

She undid her skates, put on the flat pads, and put them in her athletic bag so she could slide her feet into the fur lined clogs that she wore after any type of skating. Not even wanting to change, she just grabbed the bag, fished out her keys, received her nightly kiss on the forehead from Pavel, and left the ice station. Her car was parked immediately outside; a dark blue Honda civic; small, efficient, and perfect for her. The drive home took twenty minutes, and after she'd put the car in the garage, she walked into the house and immediately opened the fridge to grab a bottle of ultra-lite beer. She went into the expansive living room and turned on the tv, finding a re-run of sex and the city and watching until the end of the episode. When she was too tired to really pay attention to the next one, she put the beer by the sink, and made her way upstairs, dropping her clothes in a heap by the bathroom door, and standing under the shower spray until the water was burning her skin.

Afterwards, she got into her silk pajama set and wrapped herself in a terrycloth robe. Taking the phone from the bedside table, she dialed his cell number and sat down gingerly, trying to ease her muscles into a sitting position.

It went straight to voicemail, and she looked at the ceiling for guidance as she left a message.

"Dad. I'm back in the city. I was just wondering if you wanted to have breakfast. Tomorrow. I'm free. Give me a call on the cell. Just leave a message. Alright. Bye."

Placing the phone back on the cradle, she shed the robe, and slipped under the covers, crawled to the right side of the bed, and shut off the lamp. Within moments, she was asleep.

-----

More about Meg coming soon!


	7. Breakfast

At five a.m. the next morning, Meg crept out of bed, and quietly changed into a pair of running shorts, a sports bra, and a t-shirt. She grabbed a pair of socks, and went downstairs to put on her sneakers. From the fridge, she took out a bottle of water, and letting herself out of the house, she jogged the block and a half to the neighborhood park. It had a little walkway all around the place, including a lake and a large playground. Putting the water bottle near the stump of a tree, she put her ipod arm band on, selected a playlist, and began to run.

As an athlete in the best shape possible, Meg was accustomed to doing routines. She ran every morning from 5 to 6, and then ate a very small bit of food- usually a piece of fruit. After that, she would go to the training facility, and from six-thirty to seven-thirty or eight would skate hard. At eight, she would have a real breakfast, and then break until ten or so. At ten she would return to the training facility and work out. After spending at least an hour in the gym, she would have as small lunch, then train on the ice again. She usually did that until six or so, and then would decide to quit for the day and have a life, or to continue to train.

At six am, she went back to the house and crept back into the bedroom. Grabbing a skating outfit and decent clothes for the day, she grabbed an apple from the kitchen and drove to the ice complex. It was, as usual, empty, and she worked on her routine until eight, when she took a shower in the state-of-the-art locker room bathroom, and scrubbed down. Throwing on blue track pants and a white tank top, she grabbed all of her stuff, and got back into the car.

----

Derek sat alone at a booth in the restaurant. It was a bustling, thriving Greek place, not unlike Dancing Zorba's from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and though he'd only been there five minutes, he was already on his second cup of coffee. He had left Addison at the trailer, still sleeping, and hurried to find the place. He couldn't believe that he was nervous about having breakfast with his own daughter. Through voicemail, they'd agreed to meet there, since he occasionally came for breakfast, and thought she might like the food.

At precisely eight-thirty, Meg walked through the door looking refreshed and beautiful. She spotted Derek immediately and gracefully walked over and sat down.

"Hey."

"Hi."

No sooner had she sat then the waitress came over to take her order.

"I'll just have an iced tea right now. Have you ordered?"

He shook his head, and she smiled in thanks as the waitress gave them two menu's.

"So. You're back in Seattle. For good?"

"Yes. I just got in on Monday."

She pretended to look over the menu as he did the same, and they sat in silence for a moment.

"Where are you living?"

"There's a house on the east side. Hawthorne Heights."

His eyebrows shot up as he had some more of his coffee, and he nodded.

"Well done."

"Yes. It was just the perfect house. I think I might buy it from the school someday."

"Can you afford to?"

"Yes. I just signed with Addidas."

"That's really great, Meg."

Meg gave a tight smile and nodded. The waitress came back to take their orders, and he ordered one of the platters, while she took a bowl of fruit and a poached egg."

"So. Tell me about your life here."

He shrugged, and tried desperately to sound enthused.

"It's great. The hospital's fantastic, good doctors, good surgeries. I like the ferry boats."

"Ferry boats?"

"It's a thing."

"Right. Where are _you _living?"

Giving a chuckle, he stirred some more milk into his coffee and looked down at it.

"Actually, I bought this piece of land, right by a lake, and I'm living in a trailer."

She looked at him for a long moment, and gave a wry smile.

"How's Addison."

"She's fine."

"Good. I heard she's moved here for good."

"Yeah."

"You know, Mark said you had a girlfriend here."

Derek felt himself lock his jaw and forced himself to be civil.

"Been talking to Mark?"

"Well. He was the only one who didn't completely abandon me. And kept trying to keep contact. I've had maybe ten phone calls from you the whole time you've been here."

"I'm sorry."

Sighing, she stirred her ice tea and played with the ice cubes. She obviously had something to get off her chest, and he knew better than to push her. The only person who had ever been able to handle Meg had been Pavel. And that was partly because when she was a child, he'd scared her with stories about how Russian coaches beat their athletes with canes. Meg had wised up around the age of twelve. Since then, nobody had experienced any peace.

"He said you didn't tell this…woman…about being married."

"He's right. I didn't. I was so angry with Addison, I lied to Meredith. That's her name."

"That's all well and good, Dad, but what about me? I'm willing to bet you didn't tell her you had a daughter."

"Meg-"

"No. No. I need to say this. I wasn't always so into my skating. There was a time when I had a normal high school life. It may have been busy, but I had a life. And then you slowly stopped being around. More surgeries. Less time at home. And don't get me wrong, I was furious with Addison for cheating on you. It's no secret we never got along. Still, I was angry. But now, I sort of see what drove her to it. You left us. Both of us. I'd begun to travel, so it didn't hit me as hard, but you were practically living a different life. And that's why skating became so important. Why I finally decided to just go for it and chase a medal to the Olympics. I'm doing nationals this year. If I do well enough I'll follow on to the World Championships."

"Meg, there's nothing I would like more than for you to succeed, you know that."

"You didn't tell her, did you?"

"Meg-"

"No, really. You didn't tell her."

Going silent, he stared at the coffee in sudden hate.

"No. I didn't. Not at first."

"Let me guess. I came to see you at the hospital, and you decided to come clean about your life."

"No. Meg-"

He was cut off as his cell phone began to ring where it lay on the table, and his pager went off at the same time. Unable to let it go, knowing it was the hospital, he answered it and had a few words with the attending. One of his patients had gone into seizures and was only being contained by deep sedatives. Agreeing to get right to the hospital, he looked at Meg regretfully.

"That's not what it was like."

"No? Then tell me. What was it like Dad? Or better yet, I'll tell you. You got saddled with a kid when you were barely married. Not yours. Not Addison's. Just your best friend's kid. And she didn't get along with your wife. And life got hard. And then she grew up and went away to boarding school because you were finally having one hell of a career. And then your wife cheats on you, and you move to Seattle and meet this Meredith person. And I'll bet she's _great_. Sweet and nice and caring and completely amazing. But then your wife shows up. And you leave this girl to work things out. And then, suddenly, your adopted daughter waltzes back in and screws everything up again, and you have to go around confessing to your girlfriend- who you still probably love-, and dealing with your wife – who blames your daughter for the end of her marriage. So let me do you a favor. Let me walk out right now, and leave you to it. Because I'm here, in this city for two people. Two people who have changed their lives for me. And I'm not about to go through what we went through in New York all over again. I've been walked all over since I turned fourteen. But not anymore."

Meg rose, grabbed her bag, and left Derek in the restaurant staring at the spot she had just vacated.

----------

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	8. Questions

Half an hour later, Meg was pacing around her bedroom, dressed only in her underwear. The pink and black lacy bra with matching panty briefs fit her body beautifully, and accentuated all her curves as she frantically walked in front of her dresser.

"I mean, it was awful. I just went on and on and on about how awful of a father he was, and how he never did his job, and how my life sucks. God. Why do I do this? Why do I always loose my temper at the most inopportune moments?"

From the bed, where he was still lounging in his pajama pants and no shirt, Andy shook his head. He was completely under the sheets, and was barely in a sitting position- if it could even be called that. Looking beautifully disheveled, he oozed sex appeal, though Meg was not taking notice.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because you pick up steam as you rant."

"And I just couldn't stop! I can never stop myself. It's like this things just come out of my throat and have to be heard. And he had started to tell me about Meredith, and he really looked like he wanted to try and have a relationship, and I had to just rush in and completely bomb the situation up. God. How do I get myself into these scrapes? I mean, I want him to be happy. I do. I love him. He took me in and gave me a home, and yes, to be honest, a lot of the time I forget all that and just think he's my dad. Which he is. He is my dad. But Addison's not my mom. And he looked so happy when he was telling me about Meredith-"

"Meggie. You're ranting again."

"I mean look at me? Do I look like a callus shallow person? Completely selfish and pigheaded? Pavel said I was pigheaded and selfish. I guess we can just add shallow and insensitive and abrasive. Do I look like that kind of person? Like an awful person?"

Sighing deeply, Andy extended his hand off the bed.

"Meg, baby, I don't have my glasses on. I can't see whether you look like anything. In fact, I can barely make out that lovely little set you're wearing, so why don't you just come here-"

"_And _to make it even worse, now that you know her, I _know _Meredith is lovely, and my dad broke her heart-"

"Woah, I would like to state that I _never _said that-"

"You implied. You said there was a weird vibe around them."

"There is a weird vibe. Do you know how weird it's been for me these past few weeks? I love Meredith. She's fantastic. But it's weird to know that she's been sleeping with your father, and knowing your father has no idea I'm sleeping with his daughter, and that Addison should hate me because I'm in love with her daughter.

"Step daughter. Addison never adopted me. Only my dad."

"Well, step-daughter then…come here."

She walked over and took his hand as it brought her down to lay right at his side, under the blankets with her leg over his. Sighing, he pulled her head to nestle into his shoulder, and he undid the pony tail holder so he could run his hands through her hair.

"We moved here so that we could start over. Be in one place together. Reconcile Pavel with his grandchildren. Reconcile with your dad-"

"That is _not-_"

"Yes it is, stop being a goose. We found _this_ city to be the answer. Pavel could have his family. You could have your family, and train, and I could be in one of the top medical programs in the country. But you have to let go."

She emitted a deep sigh, as if relinquishing all the anger currently in her body.

"I know."

"Remember how awful it was for us last year? I was constantly at school. You were always in Zurich or Moscow. You weren't talking to Mark, practically never speaking to your father. We have _everything._ And, to top it off, we'll hopefully have good friends. Once we let everyone know that we're together, and have been together, and your dad gets over the wanting to kill me phase, life will be perfect."

"Why are you always right? And always so damn philosophical?"

"I was worried. About the move and the program. But I met Meredith, and yeah, it's a little weird that one day she might possibly be my mother-in-law, but you will love her. And all of her friends. They're our kind of people, babe."

Meg leaned in to give him a long kiss, and wrapped her arms around his neck as she moved on top of him.

"When do we tell my dad?"

"Oh…I think we can give that a couple weeks. Maybe a month or two."

She laughed and lightly nudged him in his side.

"You're scared of my dad."

"Completely. And, if you remember, not only is he my boss, but you _Uncle Richard _is in control of my career. You really think everyone's going to be thrilled that their saintly, innocent- virginal little Margaret Tanya is in fact a very sexy, devoted girlfriend? On top of which, she's living with her boyfriend."

"Probably not."

She kissed him on the neck, and then kissed his ear lobe.

"But I've never been happier."

----

Derek went to the hospital to take care of his patient. He looked at the lab work, made a diagnosis, and performed the surgery. The moment after he had seen to the patient, he went up to see Richard. Getting past his secretary, he went in, still dressed in his scrubs, and sat across from the chief's desk. Richard just looked at him and leaned back in his chair.

"I need a week off."

"No."

"Listen to me, Richard. She's back. Meg is back. She's here, in Seattle, pissed off as all hell at me. Addison and I are at the breaking point over it, and I have no idea what I'm going to do about Meredith-"

"She's an _intern_, Derek-"

"And I think she might also be the love of my life. I tried. I have tried to make my marriage work. It wasn't just Addison sleeping with mark. We've been unhappy these past few years."

"And you need a week off to do what?"

"I don't want to end my marriage because of Meredith. That's not what it's about. I just need to…think."

"And you need a week to think?"

"I'm juggling four peoples lives here."

Richard sighed and put a hand up to his chin.

"So she's in Seattle."

"Yeah. To train. Her coach was from here and his family still lives here."

"Should I be hurt she hasn't come to see me?"

"She only came to see me because my mother threatened to tell me. We had breakfast this morning and she walked out."

"Does this explain why Addison's been so jumpy?"

"You know they never got along. And it was worse when she was in New York with Mark."

"Why didn't they get along?"

"I don't know.

"Yes you do."

Derek stared at his friend and mentor for a long moment, before shaking his head.

"I didn't love one more than the other."

"Maybe not. But I think that both of them thought that there came a time when you began to love surgery more."

"Addison always wanted to have a baby…especially when Meg was ten or so. But we were both just so busy, we had trouble keeping up with Meg, let alone another baby. I think she always resented me a little for it. And Meg of course."

"Fine. Take your week. One week, Derek. And when you get back, I expect some major changes around this hospital. And, I expect to get a call about having lunch from that daughter of yours."

They stood, and Derek shook his hand.

"I'll see what I can do. Here's her number."

He took out his phone and copied down the number for Richard, then left the office, intent on finding Meredith. She was filling out charts at the nurse's station, and he quietly sidled up to her and put down the cup of coffee he'd bought.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"I'm taking a week off."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I need to resolve this thing."

"Oh."

"So I'm not going to be around."

"Right."

She looked at him for a long moment, then turned and walked away. She got two steps before she turned back, grabbed the coffee, and went on her way. Derek smiled after her, and went back to his office to grab his things. He'd handed over all of his patients to the other neurosurgeon on staff, and was looking forward to doing some fishing. Not wanting to delay, he hurried out of he hospital and back to the trailer.

---

Review! I really take into account the things that you say, so throw ideas at me! Tell me what you like or don't like!


	9. An Evening with Friends

After Derek returned to the trailer to get ready for his week of solitude and relaxation, he called Addison and told her what would be going on.

"You're taking a week off to go fishing."

"I'll still be sleeping at the trailer."

"Derek-"

"Are you happy with the way things are? Right now?"

She paused, and though he couldn't see her, he knew she was rubbing at her temple with her left hand. It was her nervous gesture, as if she could anticipate the headaches that would follow.

"We're going through a rough patch-"

"Addy, I'm taking a week off to think. To make sure it's the right decision."

"So you do want a divorce."

"I'm not going to divorce you because of Meredith. If we part, it'll be because we aren't meant for each other anymore. Not for any other reason."

He ended the call after another minute, and set about getting his things together.

------

That evening, being Friday night, the entire gang of interns had gathered at the house. Izzy was baking all kinds of goodies for desert, but they had all agreed to order several pizza's and help Meredith get completely smashed. The decision to help Meredith get drunk had been made before Andy had arrived, so all he found when he got there was a tired Meredith, while Alex and George helped Izzy, and Cristina was out getting the booze.

"Hey."

"Hey you."

He sat down next to her, and kicked his feet up on he coffee table. She was curled into the end of the sofa in a similar fashion, and she tiredly dropped her head onto his shoulder.

"Kill anybody?"

"Not today."

"Good for you. Mrs. Fairchild died."

"I'm sorry. She was nice."

"She was nice. But she wasn't alone. Her whole family was there."

"Is that why there were a million children running around?"

"Yeah. Great-grandchildren. Pretty cool, huh? Great grandchildren. I'm never going to have great grandchildren. I'll probably never even have children. Of any kind."

"Oh. I wouldn't be so sure about that."

She turned to look at him, and he winked.

"I'm going to tell you something, even though you already know, I bet, because you know everything."

"Well, what can I say? I am a hotshot doctor."

"I slept with Derek Shepherd."

Trying to work surprise on his face, he slung and arm over the back of the couch and with the other hand, reached forward to grab some of the m&m's that Izzy kept in a little bowl on the table.

"Dr. Shepherd, huh?"

"Yeah. I met him at a bar, the night before my first day of work. And took him home. And then, the next day, found out he was my boss. And he pestered me. And then we had a relationship. And then, I found out he has a wife. Because she came to Seattle. And then he didn't divorce her, he picked her. Chose her. Loved her. And then, I got a dog. But George didn't like the dog, so I had to give him to Derek. Because Derek has room for a dog- he lives in a trailer on this huge spread of land. And then the dog got sick, and we took him to see a vet, and then I got involved with the vet, and then the night that we had a prom at the hospital and Denny died, I had sex with Derek. And now he's taking a week off to figure out his life."

"That sounds like quite a story."

"It's a very abbreviated version."

"I shudder to think what the novel will be like."

"I know I'm an idiot. And a glutton for pain. It's okay to judge me. Because I know."

"Did he say he was going to pick Addison again?"

"No. He said he was going to 'resolve this thing'."

"Well, then you don't really know, do you?"

They settled in to watch a baseball game that was on, and laughed as George and Alex got into a miniature food fight, and both came out with spots of flour all over. When Cristina returned, they all grabbed a beer and cheered on whichever team they were supporting that evening, while waiting for the pizza. When it did come, Andy grabbed the tab, and threw his wallet on the coffee table as he carried the two boxes to the kitchen. Izzy picked up the black Armani wallet with interest.

"I'm looking at your driver's license."

"Fine."

She opened the wallet, and laughed as she pulled out the photo of him at the age of twenty-one, with crew cut hair, and a cheeky grin. Behind the license was a little wallet sized picture, and she pulled that out as well. It was of him and Meg, taken when they'd been in Paris. It was a close up of their faces, both grinning at the camera while he had his arms wrapped around her from behind, and had rested his head on her shoulder.

"Andy, is this her?"

He was still in the kitchen, opening the boxes and getting the plates ready. After all the time he'd spent there, he knew his way around.

"Is what who?"

"This picture. Is it your girlfriend?"

"Yeah. We were in Paris."

Izzy and Meredith exclaimed over how absolutely adorable she was, and Alex got into an argument with Cristina over the merits of each baseball team. Running to the kitchen, like two little ten year olds, they held out the picture.

"Invite her over."

"What?"

"Invite her over. Is she busy? She should come."

He grinned at Meredith, and took the picture and the wallet.

"Alcohol taking effect, huh?"

Izzy ignored him, and started tugging on his shirt.

"Please, Andy? We've never met her, and she's so cute, and we know practically nothing about you, and there's so much food. She should come over."

They went on for another minute before he threw his hands up and agreed, pulling out his phone and pressing her speed dial number.

"Hey. Are you on your way home?"

"I just showered, actually."

"Brilliant. You feel up to going out?"

"Depends."

"Well, I'm here at Meredith's house, and they all want you to come over so they can meet you. There's food."

"Andy…"

"Come on. It'll be fun."

"Alright."

He gave her directions, and hung up the phone, turning to the two mega excited girls standing by the pizza, each munching on a slice.

"She'll be right here."

"Yay."

From the living room, Alex yelled to bring out the pizza, and they laughingly did so. They returned to the living room just in time to catch the beginning of the fourth inning, and were only at two outs when there was a knock on the door. Meredith and Izzy jumped up immediately, and Andy turned round on the couch to see them open the door.

"Come in, Come in."

Meg stepped in, looking (in Andy's opinion) completely gorgeous in khaki Capri pants, a white tank top, and a little blue half cut sweater. She had her hair in a long ponytail, and the hair fell in one long ringlet down her back.

"Hi. I'm Maggie."

"I'm Izzy. This is Meredith."

They all squealed, and gave out hugs.

"It's so good to meet you."

"Oh, you as well. Andy's told me so much about both of you. It's nice to put a face to the name."

"Well, the pizza just got here, help yourself- what would you like to drink?"

She paused, looking round the corner at everyone.

"I'll just take a beer."

"Great."

Meredith went off to get it, and Izzy led her right into the circle of interns.

"So this is Cristina and Alex and George."

"Hi. Nice to meet you."

Alex nodded, Cristina shook her hand, and George smiled warmly. She slid into the spot next to Andy, and he wrapped his left arm around her.

"Hey."

He leaned in and gave her a light kiss.

"Regular beer? I'm impressed."

Meg simply rolled her eyes, and gratefully accepted the open beer from Meredith, who dropped onto the other side of the couch next to Izzy. They spent the next ten minutes watching Cristina and Alex continue to argue, and eventually Meg took a piece of pizza. The gesture made Andy smile, and hold her a little bit closer. Usually, Meg was a fanatic about eating the right foods, and keeping everything low carb and low calorie. She drank lite beer, almost never at pizza, and it was rare for her to eat sweets. Her workouts and training kept her thin, but she constantly watched what she ate, and overcompensated with exorcise.

"So. Maggie. How did you guys meet?"

"Well…I was at one of the crew meets with my friends. And he won, of course, and I thought he was just the hottest thing ever."

"Yeah, except she certainly didn't act like it. _I _had seen her before the meet started, and kept looking over."

"And afterwards, he came over to talk, but tried to be all cool and act like he was there to see his friends."

"But I was about to casually ask her out-"

"When his teammates came and picked him up so they could throw him in the lake."

Everyone laughed, thinking of Andy being tossed into a lake.

"So what happened?"

"He found out where I lived and sent me a bouquet of roses, with a very charming note. And I said I'd go out with him, and, ah, we just…started dating."

"Aww. That's so sweet."

Alex and Cristina traded glances and went back to the game, while George went to get the other pizza from the kitchen. Both Izzy and Meredith watched how cute Andy and _Maggie _were, and smiled at each other. She seemed to be an absolute sweetheart, and they couldn't have been more thrilled.

"So, what do you do in Seattle?"

"I'm working for Addidas."

"Wow? Design stuff?"

"Sponsorship stuff. Yeah. I like it."

"Did you go to Brookings as well?"

She nodded, and moved as Andy got more comfortable. When he'd settled, he pulled her back to her original position, and reached out to get a piece of pizza from George.

"So, Maggie, have you been to the hospital yet?"

"Just once, actually. It's nothing compared to all of your hours, but I'm pretty much glued to my job during the day. Besides. Hospital's really aren't my thing."

They all laughed at the irony of the statement, but both Andy and Meg were trying to put a lid on just how ironic the whole sentence was. For the rest of the game they laughed and talked and watched with amusement as Cristina and Alex tried to outdo each other with insults, and George struggled to stay awake, having been on call the night before. When the game was over, Andy insisted he get Meg back home and to bed, thanking them for the evening. As they were leaving, George remembered to invite them to the barbeque they were having the next night.

"Alex and I found this ancient grill, so it should be funny, but you guys should come. If you're not, you know, busy, which if you are, it's fine."

"Really? We'd love to. We're not doing anything tomorrow night. Right baby?"

"Andy shook his head."

"Nothing I can think of."

"Perfect. We'll be here. Should we bring anything?"

"Nah."

"Great. It was really nice to meet all of you."

She hugged Meredith and Izzy and George, and smiled at Cristina and Alex. With another little wave, she and Andy went back to their respective cars and made their way home. Once back at the house, they both changed into their nightclothes, and quickly got into bed.

"I'm really glad I went. They're all really nice. Meredith's a sweetheart."

"Yeah. I thought you'd like her."

---

Okay, things to know:

Derek **_never _**told Meredith that Meg went to Brookings. He just said a private school, so Meredith doesn't know. Just keep that in mind!

Please review!


	10. Basis of Friendship

The next morning, Meg woke up for her run. To her surprise, Andy got up with her. While he occasionally ran during the week with her (sometimes he preferred to run with Meredith during _daylight _hours), he didn't usually get up on weekends with her. When they had still been at Brookings, he had lived in the Crew house, and while she had still been in the under eighteen girls dormitory, she'd mostly just slept in his room whenever she was in the country. So they'd had a routine, more or less. Especially the past three months, when she'd stayed in New York. She had ended up moving into the Crew house, which wasn't nearly as uncommon as she'd thought it might have been.

He threw on running shorts and a tight white t-shirt, socks and sneakers, and followed her downstairs. They walked to the park, and started to jog. One of the things that Meg loved about Andy was that any activity they were doing ended up being fun. They constantly entertained each other, but they were also fine with being silent for hours on end, and just being together. Running with him, was a completely different story. They chatted, chided, made fun of each other, and constantly upped the pace. They loved to race, and were always trying to outrun each other.

"So, what are you making for the barbeque?"

She shot him a sidelong glance as they rounded the lake and continued on the path.

"George said I didn't have to bring anything."

"Yeah right. You can't go anywhere without taking food along."

"I can so…but I'm only going to make one thing. A salad."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"What? A simple, five minute salad. Shut up."

"Fine."

"What should we do today?"

"Blow off the rest of the world and climb into bed so you can blow-"

"Sightseeing, I think."

He winked cheekily and she lightly shoved him and raced ahead.

"Come on. I can beat you home."

"I'll take that."

They both ran as fast as they could back through the park and through the neighborhood to the house. They reached it at the same time, and collapsed on the front lawn, laughing.

"Come on."

He helped her up and they walked to the garage, punching in the code so it opened. As they let themselves into the house, she opened the fridge and threw him a bottle of water. After drinking, they trotted upstairs and into the bedroom, stripping and throwing the clothes into the hamper.

"Oh no. you are not showering with me. You can wait your turn, mister."

"I'm sure I could."

Andy unexpectedly bent down and picked her up so she was bent over his shoulder.

"But I won't."

"Put me down."

"Oh, _I will_."

She started kicking (the air) and attempted to punch his back.

"Andrew Edward Carmichael put me _down_. Right now."

"Or what?"

"Or-"

"Stop sputtering, baby."

He took them into the en suite bathroom which was spacious enough not for him to have to worry about banging her head on anything. With one hand he put the water on, and waited for it to become just the right temperature. Then, he ungraciously dumped her in the stall, and smiled as she got completely drenched.

She was still wearing her underwear and sports bra.

"I am gonna kill you."

She took them off, and he just grinned as he lost his boxers and joined her, pulling her into a kiss before she had the chance to do anything else. After a moment or so, she decided it was a lost cause, and began to respond.

----

After their '_shower', _Andy convinced Meg to just get back into bed and spend the morning being lazy. While she checked her e-mail and responded to messages on her lap top, he went downstairs and made them breakfast, bringing it up on a tray, complete with a rose from the arrangement she had kept on the kitchen table.

"_Baby_, you know I don't eat pancakes."

"Yes, but _sweetie_, between the run and the shower, I think you've worked off enough calories. Besides," He put the tray over her lap and sat down to nuzzle his face into her neck, "We'll work it all off later."

Giggling, she turned her head and kissed him, then rolled her eyes and ate the pancakes. They did indeed work off the calories of the pancakes. _Several times_.

-----

That afternoon, Izzy set about baking. She enlisted Meredith to help her, and even had Callie mixing up batters. Since the night of the prom, Callie had become one of the family. Izzy had finally warmed up to her, and treated her the same way she did Meredith or George or Cristina, and Callie had begun to understand just how much the interns cared about each other. She and Meredith had even become good friends, and she had taken the same position as Cristina in the fight against McDreamy messing with Meredith. She had also officially moved into the house. All three girls were dressed in jeans and tank tops, and all three were covered in splotches of flour, chocolate or honey.

"So Maggie seems nice."

Meredith nodded at Izzy and turned to Callie.

"Andy and his girlfriend came over last night."

"Really? What's she like?"

"She's adorable. And a complete sweetheart."

"And funny. She's funny."

Callie nodded.

"All nice qualities."

Izzy got the brownies out of the oven and began to pour the sugary concoction she'd made over them while they were still hot.

"We didn't get a chance to talk to her much. Alex and Cristina were here, and she was glued to Andy's side."

"That boy."

Callie enjoyed working with the new intern. He was smart and didn't ask stupid questions, and didn't irritate her like the non-bailey interns did. It was probably why he'd been assigned to Bailey's squad.

"So. What does she look like?"

"Absolutely stunning. Dark brown hair like this chocolate. I'm serious. She's just, completely gorgeous."

"Yeah…"

Meredith trailed off and both of the women turned to look at her questionably. She noticed her gazes and shook her head with a confused face.

"Do you think we've met her before? I mean, she lives in Seattle. It's conceivable I've run into her before."

"Probably not. We don't go anywhere except the hospital and Joe's. She's only been to the hospital once. Why?"

"I just feel like I know her. Like I've met her. There's something familiar. Last night she was having her beer, and turned to laugh at something Alex said, and I just…I don't know. It was weird."

"Maybe you've seen her around. I mean I guess it's possible…"

"No, no…it doesn't matter anyway. Where's Alex?"

Izzy went back to the brownies.

"He went home to get some of his stuff."

"Izzy, put that poor boy out of his misery."

"I will…I just need a little more time…he knows that."

She smiled and began to attend to her cake again.

----

Derek didn't actually own a fishing boat. Or a row boat. At the end of his property, there was a small dock to the lake, but he had no boat. Deciding that he wanted to actually fish from the middle of the lake, rather than the dock, he pulled out the phonebook and began calling people about renting some equipment.

----

When Meg and Andy arrived at the house that evening, they came bearing five plus dishes. George and Alex gave Andy a hand getting everything in from the car, while Maggie was immediately swept into the kitchen by the women. She was introduced to Callie, and happily shakes her hand and smiles as Izzy begins to exclaim over all the dishes.

"You didn't have to do all this! My God, it must have taken you all day."

"It didn't take long at all. I love to cook. And Andy said you're fonder of baking than cooking, so I thought I might not be intruding if I made a couple dishes."

There was a fancy potato salad and a plate of deviled eggs, a pot of chili and a cheese casserole, as well as a strawberry lettuce salad and garlic bread. Meredith and Callie looked at each other, both feeling left out in the presence of such culinary greatness.

"Okay, seriously? You are my new best friend."

Meg just laughed, and poured herself a glass of lemonade from the open pitcher sitting on the counter. She had dressed simply for the evening, in a jean skirt and pink t-shirt, along with pink stiletto's. She had worn her hair in two French braids, and put on little make up.

"So. How's it going with that grill?"

The other three women started laughing, and looked out the kitchen window to where the men were trying to start a fire.

"George and Alex tried to clean it."

"Tried?"

Callie laughed.

"They succeeded, I guess. Most of the dirt ended up on them."

"Sounds like Andy. He absolutely _insisted _on trying to fix the lawn mower. Ridiculous. He didn't have a clue of what he was doing."

"Men. They think that just because they cut people open, they know how to do everything."

Izzy was still curious about 'Maggie" and Andy, and as she spooned chocolate sauce into the center of her éclairs, she grilled the younger woman about their relationship.

"So how did you guys get so serious so fast?"

"Believe it or not, seventy-seven percent of Brookings students end up marrying Brookings students. It's sort of traditional there to get very serious in one relationship, and most of them just last. Andy and I…well, we were against the odds, actually."

Directing Meredith to whisk her batter faster, Izzy turned all her attention to Maggie.

"How so?"

Meg just spooned the sauce into the éclairs absently, and tapped her toe against the floor. She wanted to give them a true, but slightly off kilter rundown of what her relationship with Andy had been like, but it was hard. Until they moved to Seattle, everything had been hard, and extremely painful. There had been long absences, mistrust, and extreme miscommunication. They had also shared a completely unique bond, both realizing that they had found their partner for life, and therefore working extra hard to preserve the relationship. When they were apart, it was like she was missing part of herself, and originally, that had been hard to conceal from Derek, who had always tended to be overprotective. Her being sixteen and dating a twenty-one year old wouldn't have gone over well in the real world. Inside the Brookings walls, however, age ceased to matter at all.

"Oh…we weren't together a whole lot. I had already been hired by Addidas, and I was traveling a lot. For training. Working with people. And, of course, Andy was _quite_ the catch on campus. And there was another girl."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Her name was Samantha. She was…I mean, you guys don't really want to hear this."

"Yes we do."

All three women chorused it, including Callie, who had decided she liked Maggie almost immediately.

"Okay. So we started dating after that delightful crew meet, and he started taking me out on every available night he had off. And for…almost a months we, ah, well, he courted me. Just…flowers and notes and candy and everything. Every possible moment together. But I didn't really think it would go anywhere- he was a true Brookings son. Everyone loved him. But we just…being apart was hard. And it happened so fast that I got upset and scared and didn't know which way was up. We had a huge fight. And I had a trip, which I went on and I was out of Brookings for almost a month. And, I don't know. I was really hesitant about getting into a relationship with him."

"Very soap opera."

"_Izzy_."

"What? They're together so it obviously ended well."

Meg laughed and nodded, going back to the éclairs.

"It did end well. But for a while it was touch and go."

"What happened?"

She smiled, thinking back on that time three years earlier.

"I fell in love with his best friend. Not in love, in love, but when I met Luke, his best friend, he convinced me to go for it with Andy. And I fought for him. By that point, I had missed him so much that I just knew. And I waged a completely emotional war."

She was definitely blushing, and the women got an idea of just what had gone down. Alex came in to say that the grill was ready, and they all went outside to keep the men company as they cooked up the meat. the yard wasn't huge, but had a nice grassy area and a little brick patio, with several loungers and chairs spread out. Meredith was shocked at what they had found in the attic, and at how much the house was beginning to look like a home. Everyone had put their touch on it, including Callie who had immediately dragged Izzy and Meredith to some authentic stores the moment she had been declared part of the 'sisterhood', and bought some colorful rugs and appliances.

"So. Where are you two lovebirds shacked up?"

"Hawthorne Heights."

Meredith was privately astounded. Hawthorne Heights was one of the more prestigious neighborhoods in Seattle, and completely out of any of their price ranges.

"That's a nice place. How on earth do you guys afford it?"

George had blurted it out, and realized that the question was bordering on rude. Meg just smiled and leaned closer to Andy.

"So you guys know that Brookings is psycho rich and weirdly in control of a million different things outside the school itself? Well, they sort of deal in real estate. They buy houses all over the country, in major cities and areas, that are really exclusive. And they rent out and keep people in the houses until they've pretty much either broken even or gained a profit. Which, the way they do it, isn't hard to do. So when students are doing study's abroad or alums need a place to live, they are literally, given the house. For as long as they need. So, we just looked at some houses and picked one. They only had three here."

"Um. I wish my school had done that."

"Brookings is literally its own little country. No joke. It's completely it's own world. There would be times I didn't leave for a month and a half or so. You can completely exist there, with absolutely no contact with the outside world. It deals in so many different aspects. Business, real estate, the arts. Everything."

"But. We found the perfect house."

Meg smiled at Andy and slowly nodded.

"We did. And you guys have to come over. Next Friday. Half of our stuff is still packed, so I'll have some time to put some semblance of normalcy around the place, but you must come. And it'll be hot, so we'll make it a pool party."

"You have a pool? Sweet. I'm there."

Izzy rolled her eyes at Alex and laughed as he attempted to flip a burger like a prize chef. Meredith, Callie and George were all excited at the prospect of an evening of fun by the pool and began to plan the details with Meg and Andy.

----

As always, please review!


	11. Pool Party

By Monday morning, it was apparent that Andy and Meg ( or Maggie, as she was known ) had been initiated into the family. Meredith, Izzy and Callie had made her their new best friend, and were already planning shopping trips and outings together. Cristina had taken a liking to her as well, since she seemed to be able to give an opinion and information on just about every subject that came up. She had read all the classic literature extensively, she knew more about sports than most people, and she also showed a delightfully thorough knowledge of the human body. The last fact made it easy to talk shop around and with her, and they didn't have to explain nearly as much as they usually did when discussing surgeries or interesting cases.

While she was thrilled to have made a new good friend in Meg, Meredith was also revisiting her own private hell. Knowing that Derek had taken his week off to finally come to a decision about his marriage and his mistress made her both uneasy and skittish. Seeing Addison being professionally happy and polite everyday had also made her anxious. Derek may have been out of the hospital, but he was returning to the trailer (and Addison) every night.

What Meredith didn't know was that Addison was seeing no more of Derek than anyone else. He left earlier than she got up, and returned after she went to sleep. She knew what he was going to do, and the fact that he was taking forever to do it just made her miserable. She had already begun to mentally pack, deciding she would give up without a fight.

A person could only take so much.

----

On Wednesday afternoon, Derek sat in his rowboat in the middle of the lake, seemingly fishing. In his hand, however, he held his cell phone, and was staring at it as if it had all the answers to his life. He had been doing so for almost the past half hour, and something in him finally made him dial a familiar number.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

There was a short pause, and the person on the other end stopped what they were doing.

"Derek?"

"Yeah. It's me. What's up, Mark."

"Nothing…Nothing at all."

There was another long pause, and Mark let himself into his office so he could have some privacy.

"How's Seattle."

"Nice weather. A little hot."

After the next pause, Mark exhaled deeply and sat in his leather desk chair.

"Not that I'm not thrilled, buddy, but what's the reason."

Derek let out a similar breath and looked down at his boots, caked with mud and dirt.

"Thank you for looking after her."

"I love her, Derek. It isn't a hard job. Besides. She's a big girl. A woman, now."

"Yeah. But thanks just the same."

"You've talked to her then?"

Somehow, Mark didn't think they'd had a heart to heart. Knowing about the situation with Andy, and knowing Derek, he couldn't imagine that his best friend would be so calm if he knew what his daughter was up to.

"Not really. We tried, but she got upset. God knows she has a right, but we haven't talked since…I took a week off at the hospital…to think."

"So it's over."

Derek waited a long beat before answering.

"Yeah. I think we've done as much as we can do. I've tried to be a good husband. And I can't be a good husband to Addie, and be a happy man and a good father at the same time. But I think she wants out too…you should think about coming out here."

"Derek, I-"

"You didn't break up my marriage, Mark. I did that. You and Addison just happened to turn to each other while it was slowly happening. I can't blame you for that…at least, not anymore. But I still love her. I just hope that she's _in love _with you."

"Me too, buddy."

'Yeah."

"Yeah."

And then Derek Shepherd and Mark Sloan began to talk about the Yankees, and how much they sucked that year. It was a large step for the future of their friendship, and while Mark was thrilled, he knew that there was a lot more anger to come. Still, while he spoke, he booked his tickets to Seattle on his computer.

-------

When Derek entered the trailer on Friday afternoon, he found Addison sitting at the little table, going over some paperwork.

"Hey. Catch anything?"

"Yeah. In the cooler outside."

She nodded, and sat back a little bit. She was dressed in shorts and a camisole, with her hair in a braid down her back. Looking calm but unhappy, and Derek sighed to himself as he sat down opposite her.

"So."

"Are we done, Derek? Is this really the end?"

He looked down at his hands, folded in his lap, and then back up at her.

"I've forgiven you for Mark. Really. We both made mistakes. It isn't about that."

"_But_?"

"Do you want to go back to New York? Eventually?"

She shrugged and put the pen that she was holding on the table. She didn't want any sharp objects in her hands.

"Maybe. It's an option. It's always an option, right?"

"I want to stay here, Addie. Forever. I want to live here. Build a house on this land and live in Seattle for a long, long time."

"I can do that-"

"That's just it. You _could _do that. You _would _do that. But you don't want to do it. You would live it, Addie, but you wouldn't embrace it. And I can't blame you for that. You didn't pick this place. You were made to be in Manhattan."

"So were you, Derek."

"Once upon a time, yes. But not now."

"So because of one thing-"

"I love you, Addie. I loved you for twelve years, and I'll always love you. But not the way I used to. And I can't live with that knowledge and stay in this marriage."

She let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, and nodded.

"Meredith-"

"It isn't about Meredith. It's about you and me. We're not really an '_us'_, Addie. I just can't continue. You deserve better than what I can give you."

Sighing from the bottom of her stomach, she nodded.

"I'll get the papers ready. In the meantime, I think I'll check into a motel."

----

Meredith, George and Izzy were driving through Hawthorne Heights, trying to follow the directions that Maggie had given them. The winding roads of the neighborhood were flanked on both sides by enormous, sprawling mansions. George and Izzy had their faces practically pressed against the windows, looking at all of the houses.

"These houses are ginormous."

"Ginormous isn't a word."

"It's my word, George. Gigantic and enormous."

He looked up at a particularly castle like spread, unable actually look at the whole house with one glance.

"She said it was small and cozy. These houses are not small, nor are they cozy."

"George, she's lived at Brookings Academy for the past ten years. That place is huge. Living in her own house must be like major downsizing. Besides. It could be cozy from the inside."

"Wait, is that the street?"

Izzy squinted as Meredith looked down at the directions, trying to decipher her own hurried writing.

"Stonybrook?"

"Yes. That's it."

She took the left turn, they were greeted with another street of expansive houses.

"Now we're looking for…Iridescent Lane."

"You're kidding."

"No. It's 16 Iridescent Lane."

All three burst out laughing, and Izzy exclaimed as she pointed out the street before they passed it. Having found the street, Meredith sped up a bit, and when she slowed down in front of number 16, they were all a bit speechless.

"That is _not _small."

Indeed the house was rather large. Though it could comparatively have been called 'small' in relation to some of the other houses in the Heights, it was still a rather big house. There were windows all over, including a large bay window on the first floor that went floor to ceiling. There was a large oak tree in the front yard and the stone walkway wound its way through the yard to the front door, which had porch that wrapped around the house with columns, and a swing on the right side.

"Oh my god."

They walked up to the house and rang the bell, trying to look into the house through the glass door windows. In no time at all, Meg opened the door, dressed in a dark blue sarong with a white spaghetti strap tank top over a bikini top. She had put her hair into a high ponytail, and was only wearing her usual bit of minimal make-up.

"Hello, Hello. Come on in."

She got kisses from everyone, and showed them through the house. George and Izzy both had a trey of brownies, and Meredith had a bottle of wine in each hand. Following "Maggie" through a series of hallways and into the kitchen, they were astounded at how high the ceilings were and how open the whole house seemed to be. There were hall tables and rugs all over the place, furnished with printed paintings on the walls and candles and flower arrangements all over.

Izzy and George exchanged looks as they followed Meredith and Maggie, and when they entered the kitchen, Izzy almost fainted.

It was huge. High ceilings, a huge island, and plenty of counter space, along with a refrigerator that looked like it could house a whole grocery store.

"I think I'm in heaven."

Maggie grinned as she took the bottle of wine from Meredith and put it in the fridge to chill.

"I'm so glad you guys are here! How was work?"

All three groaned, completely tired of the hospital.

"Long."

"Awful."

"Difficult."

Maggie nodded in understanding, and nodded towards the sliding deck doors.

"George, Andy's outside messing with the grill. Since you're such an expert now…"

The other two women rolled their eyes, and George stuck out his tongue before he went into the backyard, leaving the girls on their own. The moment he was gone, Izzy turned to Meg and smiled.

"This kitchen is amazing."

"It was the clincher on the house. I just fell in love with it. Andy was looking at another house, but I saw this and just _refused _to live anywhere else."

"I can see why. Tour?"

Sighing in mock annoyance, she only ended up laughing and nodded.

"Of course. Come on."

The Kitchen and living room were open to each other, separated by an oval whiter oak table which was covered in dishes. The kitchen area, however, was completely spotless.

She showed them into the living room, followed by the den, and then through the rest of the house.

"And this will be the music room. Hopefully. Eventually."

"You have a music room. Meredith, she has a music room."

There was only a little synthesizer, set up in a corner, and a million boxes lying about, in various states of upheaval.

"So you play?"

"Yeah. I do. Eventually, we'll get a piano, but we've both been so busy, and we really need a good one. I've never actually had my own. I mean, there was always an open piano at school, but I miss playing…Anyway. Come on."

They made their way around the first floor, and upstairs. There were the three guest bedrooms, not done up very much, and the master bedroom. In the bedroom, both the older women exclaimed at the litter of pictures on the side tables and dressers. On Meg's side, there was a picture of the two of them, taken just after her graduation. She was dressed in the traditional blue and silver robes with her hat on, and holding her diploma in her hand. Andy had his arm around her waist, dressed in a dark suit, and both were grinning at the camera like two year olds.

"Aww. You actually look fantastic in _your _robes. I looked like a librarian."

"Izzy, you could never look like a librarian."

"She's right, Izz. Once a model, always a model."

Meredith went around the bed to look at the picture sitting on Andy's side table. It was a beautiful color photograph of her, taken immediately after she had emerged from a pool, wearing a white one piece swimsuit. She was wrapped in a towel like a little child, and was smiling up at the camera innocently. Meredith smiled, and moved on to a photograph on Meg's dresser.

"Maggie, this is gorgeous."

It was a silver framed photograph of the two of them, taken candidly, while they were encompassed in each other. They had been lying around on a blanket under a tree, with him lying on his back, holding her in his arms, with both of them smiling into each others faces.

"Seriously, you guys are so sweet it's disgusting."

"All our friends say so too."

There was a note of sadness in her voice that Meredith _and _Izzy picked up.

"Are they all out east?"

"Yeah. Shannon, my best friend is still in New York. As is Tommy. Andy's guy."

She showed them through the rest of the house, into the basement, where they had a huge tv and couches all over, and poked her head into Andy's study which was on the first floor. It was just opposite the music room, and had floor to ceiling bookshelves with his desk and computer set up. After that, they went back to the kitchen where Maggie had set out all the food on the table between the living room and kitchen area.

"Once again, how long did you take to make all of this?"

"I love to cook. I would do it everyday and all the time. Okay. So there's marinated chicken we can throw on there, and cobb salad and I bought some hot dogs, but there's also some corn and a bean salad and this is just a cold chicken marinara salad."

"Amazing."

"And they're all very low carb. In case anything is watching that. So. Let's see what the boys are up to…Speaking of which, is Alex coming?"

Izzy nodded, and fingered the huge arrangement of roses on the island.

"He's just caught up at the hospital. He'll make it eventually."

"Maggie, these are gorgeous."

Meg smiled and went to the island where both women were admiring the vase of long stemmed roses with layered with different colors. Just next to the vase was a yellow card standing up.

"He brings home a bouquet every week."

"You're kidding."

"No…we spent a lot of time in the gardens at Brookings. So he brings home flowers. And I'm going to plant a garden."

"He's very romantic."

"Yeah. He is."

She blushed, and shook her head.

"Come on. Let's go interrupt before they burn the place down."

She opened the sliding doors, and walked onto the deck. It had a deck set table with an umbrella, chairs, and a grill area. The deck went down several steps to a concrete floor way where the pool was. It was enormous, with a slide at one end, and on the other side of the pool, nearest the grill area, the grassy area began. There was a beautiful magnolia tree that stretched out with beautiful blossoms over the yard, and made the perfect picture.

"Your house is amazing. Everything about it is amazing."

"Thank you."

She went over to Andy, who extended an arm and hugged her close before brushing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Meredith. Izzy."

He kissed each of them in turn, and slapped George on the back.

"My man George and I are covered, ladies. So why don't you just tottle over to the pool and let us do man stuff."

"I think that's a fine idea. Come on ladies."

She showed them into the house, and Izzy into the hall bathroom, while she took Meredith to the more hidden one just off the garage. Leaving them there, she went back outside and over to the grill. George was on the phone with Callie, discussing whether or not she would make the party after the surgery she had to scrub in for, and Andy was busy flipping over the marinated chicken he'd grabbed from inside.

"Hey baby."

Meg wrapped her arms around him from behind and placed a kiss on the back of his neck.

"Hi."

"How's it going."

"I'm happy we made these friends."

"Let's just hope we don't scare them off."

"You want me to take over while you change?"

"Nah. I'll finish this, and put them to keep warm then join you guys."

"Okay."

They made small chat while they waited for Izzy and Meredith, who appeared in adorable bathing suits- Izzy in a hot pink printed bikini, and Meredith in a deep green strapless that had a small cord from the bust around the neck and back. Meg took off the tank top and sarong to reveal a deep blue top and brief shorts. As they walked towards the pool (Meg had set out towels on the table), she caught Andy's eye and laughed as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Then she dove right in, and beckoned the girls to follow her.

The next few hours were spent frolicking around, then eating, then back into the pool. Alex joined them, and after grabbing a quick bite- praising Meg's cooking all the way- began to have fun with Izzy in the pool, splashing and throwing her in. After a while, Meg decided to take a break, and went to sit on the deck to enjoy a glass of the white wine and watch everyone else. She'd had a rather intense workout on the ice that morning, and her whole body was exhausted. Meredith joined her, and they laughed at their friends as they performed silly antic after silly antic.

"So. You've been quiet tonight."

"Huh? Maybe."

Meg looked at Meredith questioningly, and topped off her glass of wine. Giving a small laugh/ shrug, she began to drink it, and leaned back in the chair.

"Andy's told you about Dr. McDreamy?"

"I've heard a thing or two."

"Well, we had sex. We had sex on the night of this hospital sponsored prom. And it was awful. I mean, no it wasn't awful, it was…"

"Enough said."

As much as Meg wanted to bond with Meredith, talking about her father's sex life was not something that she wanted to discuss in depth.

"Well, he's married. And this week he decided he couldn't take it anymore. So he took the week off, and he's making his decision."

"But if he wanted to stay with her, he wouldn't need to be away, would he?"

"He picked her before…I mean, I understand. I do. They had years together. She's his family. He has a daughter. But I don't want to be that women who waits around. I love him. But I don't want to pine."

"I think he'll pick you."

"I hate not knowing what comes next."

"I think that Derek Shepherd is in limbo. It sounds like everything that he wants is on a different level, and he doesn't know what to reach for first. But the thing is, you don't deserve this kind of bull. You love him. And it sounds like he loves you. But it can't be that easy, Meredith. If his marriage is over, then kicking out his wife shouldn't be the end all be all sacrifice."

"If he even kicks her out. I haven't made any decisions yet. I want to see what happens. But I know we can't just jump back in where we left off. Because Derek Shepherd, apart from being the man that I love, can also be a jackass."

"Good. You deserve more than that."

"I can't believe I keep spilling my soul to people I've just met. I just come across as pathetic"

Meg shook her head and put her hand on Meredith's.

"We just moved here. You guys are family."

Meredith squeezed her hand and they shared a smile. Meg felt bad keeping the truth from her, but somehow had a feeling that everything would work itself out. She found herself hopeful, for he first time, that she would really patch things up with her father, and get Meredith for a step-mother and good friend.

"Hey. M-Dawg. Come back here and teach your man how to properly shoot a water basket."

Alex had taken to calling her M-Dawg, to everyone's amusement, and she laughed and went back to the pool with Meredith. It was late before any of them left, and they planned to repeat the evening again soon. When they had all gone, Andy and Meg settled onto the plush leather couch and sighed deeply. He was stretched out with his arms spread wide, and she was curled into his side with her legs under her.

"We have a family."

He nodded and pulled her head into his neck, under his chin.

"We do."

---

Please review!


	12. Welcome Visitors

So, because of some of he reviews, I've put some stuff into the chapter to make it more realistic!

-----

The next day, Meg and Andy were too exhausted to actually drag themselves out of bed for a run. It was just after seven a.m. when the doorbell rang, waking them up. Barely ten seconds after it rang, it rang again, and Meg reluctantly grabbed the under bed sheet from under Andy (leaving him with the comforter), and wrapped it around herself. She made her way down the stairs, trying to get to the door, and opened it without even looking to see who was on the other side.

"Jesus Christ."

Through the sunlight, she made out the form of Mark Sloan, and groaned as he put his hand on his hips, and rubbed the other one on his temple.

"Uncle Mark?"

"What the hell are you wearing? Get inside. You answer the door like that?"

"I don't usually have people ringing my doorbell at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning. I thought someone might have died. Too bad it wasn't you."

She let him in, closed the door, and held her pointer finger up.

"I'll be right back."

She hurried back up the stairs and into the bedroom, throwing on all the lights and taking the pillow sham to throw it at Andy's head.

"Get up."

He just groaned and snuggled further into the bed. He was lying on his stomach, and tried to pull the pillow to cover his head. Meg was wiggling around, trying to find her clothes/get into them/not look like she had crawled out of bed, and trying to get Andy up simultaneously.

"Come on. Up."

"Mmmm…No."

"Andy, he's here."

"…who…"

"Mark. Uncle Mark. He's here. In Seattle. In our front hall."

Andy raised his head up a fraction of an inch, then shook his head and buried back under.

"Your family."

Wanting to scream in frustration she yanked a shirt from his dresser drawer and threw it on top of him.

"I thought that _we _were a family. So my family is your family."

"Not before eight am."

But he slowly rolled over and extracted himself from the covers. He was only wearing boxers, and gingerly grabbed the shirt and the jeans she threw at him and went into the en suite bathroom. Furiously brushing her dark chocolate locks, she hurriedly threw them into a ponytail and jumped into a dark pink v-neck t-shirt and jean capri's, before going into the bathroom. Andy was slowly brushing his teeth, but she didn't even bother with that- just grabbed the mouthwash and poured as much as she could into the bottle cap before swirling it around in her mouth furiously.

"That's like, half the bottle."

"Shut up and brush faster."

She flew out of the bathroom and checked her appearance once more, before leaving the bedroom and making her way to the first floor. Mark had wandered into the kitchen, and when she walked in, she saw him pouring himself a cup of coffee. He was dressed in his usual casual garb- perfectly fitting jeans and a grey t-shirt. He looked good- better than he had the last time Meg had seen him.

"So. Do I get a kiss?"

"What the hell are you doing, Meg?"

She exhaled deeply and he rolled his eyes as he put the cup on the counter and went over to plant a light kiss on her forehead before making his way to the refrigerator and opening it to get out the milk.

"No cream?"

"Do I look like I eat cream?"

"I was hoping that your knuckleheaded boyfriend took it with his."

"Andy's trying to avoid coffee. We're on a tea kick."

Mark snorted and took a long sip of coffee.

"Like I said. Your boyfriend's an idiot."

"Seriously, what the hell. It's not even eight."

Amusement crept into Mark's as he studied her going to the pantry to grab a tea bag, and he leaned against the island.

"You used to be up before six."

"I usually am. Late night."

"Uh-huh. And thank you. Really. A million pictures of you and the hubby, but not one of your family."

"Meredith and crew came over."

"So you stashed all the pictures. I'm hurt, sweetheart. Very hurt."

"I'm running a very complicated operation here. I wasn't about to blow it by having a picture of you lying around. Although, I suppose I could say you were my plastic surgeon, and I had the biggest crush on you, but then oh wait, that wouldn't work either, because anyone with two eyes would look at my nose and see that it hasn't been touched. Which, really, is your fault."

"Your nose is fine. I've told you a million times, your nose is perfect."

"You know damn well it isn't. You just won't operate."

"Damn right. I like your nose."

"Judges have mentioned it before."

"So if you don't get an Olympic gold medal because your nose is a fraction of a degree crooked, then you can blame me. Don't be ridiculous. 99 of people won't even notice it, and the other 1 percent will only see it after it's mentioned. Don't mess with your nose. If it were changed, your whole face would look off."

Meg poured water into her cup and put it in the microwave. They were silent for the minute it took to heat up, and after she spooned in the tea bag, she turned to him.

"Let's take this on the deck."

He followed her through the sliding doors and sat at the glass topped round table. The sun was out and since it wasn't yet hot, it was extremely lovely outside. Meg sat with her back to the pool while Mark sat across from her, surveying the yard.

"Beautiful house."

"Thank you."

"So. What the hell's going on, Maggie?"

She sighed and leaned back, avoiding his eyes.

"I have no idea what you mean, or why you're here."

"Come on, Margaret. You move across the entire country to set up playing house. You're living a lie. And you've made one hell of a mess of things."

"I lost my temper. It was a mistake."

"You have to fix this. It isn't about Addison or me or even Meredith."

"She's such a lovely woman."

"It isn't about marriage. It's about you and Derek."

"Did you come all the way here to tell me that. Please. I'm well aware. I'm simply fighting my _own_ Daddy demons. Besides. I'm well aware about the institute of marriage. I hope that Meredith takes him back. I hope that Addison dies and shrivels up into a ball of nothing, though I suppose it's more realistic that she'll end up with you. Andy and I have already talked about it."

Mark discarded her other comments completely.

"You're too young to even think about it."

"Oh, I'm thinking about it. But you don't have to worry. He won't marry me."

"Good."

"At least not until this thing with _Dad _is sorted out."

"I don't even want to hear about marriage till you're old enough to drink. Bad enough you're living like this at nineteen."

She sighed again and put down her cup.

"Because you're really one to talk."

"Okay. You know what? We've sort of made up, your dad and I. But it's precarious. We're like first graders. And when he finds out how much I've helped you, and helped you do what you're doing now, mainly your dear Andrew, he's going to blow a gasket. And then that paper thin relationship is going to tear into a million pieces. Your father isn't the most rational of men, despite everything. And even if he were, he has every right to be angry. He _will _have every right to be happy."

"I'm glad you helped. I'm glad that we're still the way we are, and that you act somewhat supportive of my relationship with Andrew even though I know you really do like him-"

"I do _not _like him-"

"You wouldn't have let me move across the country if you didn't. Or, at least, if you didn't like him, we wouldn't still be on speaking terms, because nothing in this world could have prevented this. I know you don't approve of him lying to Dad, or us shacking up together when we're so young, or getting married, or making friends with Meredith behind dad's back, but I need this. It isn't an eventuality anymore. And it wasn't about everyone being gone, and him picking up the pieces. Because he crushed what was already left. But then he glued _everything _back together."

"Meg-"

"I know I'm too young for him. I know that. I know he's going to be a doctor. And be busy. And not be able to be with me every time I need him to. And that he'll miss out on an important moment or two with the children. Probably more than that. But I can't live without him. And he can't live without me. And if that eventually burns out or changes, then that's that. I can't control that. But right now, he is my other half. And as much as I don't think dad will be able to accept that immediately, he's going to have to."

Mark was silent as he studied her, and then he simply exhaled the air that had been hovering in his chest.

"You still taking the pills I prescribed?"

She blushed, but nodded.

"Yeah."

"Good. Stay on them."

"I will."

Perfectly timed, Andy emerged onto the deck, carrying his own mug of tea, dressed in jeans and a white polo shirt. He and Mark shook hands the 'guy way', and he slid into the seat next to Meg, brushing his lips to her temple. Suddenly, Meg jackknifed into a straight sitting position.

"Oh my god. _He picked Meredith_."

Mark shook his head.

"No. He didn't pick Addison. That's what he picked."

"So you're here to comfort Addison."

Her voice had a cynical air to it, and while Mark usually let it go by, he called her on it.

"I care about her. Would you really dislike her so much if she wasn't your step mother? Possibly your aunt?"

"Maybe not….what are your plans, then?"

"I'm going to stay with Addison. At her hotel. I'll be here for a week while we figure everything out. But I want to see you. How's the skating going?"

"I'm getting there."

"Good."

They made plans for the day, and Meg allowed herself to enjoy her time with Mark. If truth was to be told, she was happy he had come. Mark had always been like a second father, though she was much more comfortable talking with him about things. He had been the one to really give her the straightforward sex talk before she came active, and had written her a prescription for low hormonal birth control when he'd discovered just how serious her relationship with Andy had become. He had been the one to help her pack up everything, and she loved him so much at that moment that she impulsively leaned forward and grabbed his hand. Mark just kissed the back of her hand and squeezed it, nodding in understanding.

---

Later that same day, Meredith was in the kitchen reheating some of the chicken that Meg had sent home with them the previous evening, when the doorbell rang. Alex and Izzy had gone to the grocery store, and George and Callie had gone out to lunch, so she was the only one home. Making her way to the living room, she saw Derek on the other side of the door. She halted only momentarily, and mentally realized that she was probably looking as awful as she could. Slowly, she opened the door, and stood there, staring at him.

"Hi."

"…hi…"

He didn't ask to come in, and she didn't invite him. To her chagrin, he didn't look any differently than he had the last time she had seen him. He was wearing jeans and a grey t-shirt, and looked like he had actually slept in the past few days. Seeing as how she hadn't had much sleep, it seemed unfair in the general scheme of things.

"I went fishing."

"Catch anything?"

"Yeah. Quite a bit. I'm good at fishing."

"That's a handy skill. Especially if you live by a lake."

"Yeah."

He looked down and toed the porch, seemingly looking for words. Meredith felt her heart drop into her stomach, but forced herself not to cry or give anyone the satisfaction of breaking down. She was wearing the ratty Dartmouth shirt and jeans, and had her hair wet in a low ponytail.

"Do you like fish?"

She looked at him strangely, but slowly nodded as he looked up.

"Yeah. I like fish."

"Maybe we can have fish sometime. Or fish together."

"Derek-"

"Addison and I signed the papers. As soon as we file them on Monday, we'll officially be divorced."

There was a long beat of silence as Meredith tried to replay the words in her head and view them from every possible angle. Derek seemed to understand, and stayed silent while she processed everything. After a minute or so, she slowly nodded and looked at him with mysteriously wet eyes.

"You're single."

"Yes."

"Not married."

"I'm not married."

She tried to take a deep breath, but it came out as a hiccup, and without thinking, Derek pulled her into his arms. He also had tears in his eyes, and held her tightly as her body shook, and she tried to let go of all the hurt. They ended up sitting on the porch swing (Alex had found one at a flea market with Izzy and hooked it up), holding each other and trying to breathe normally again. When Meredith finally pulled away and looked at him with tear rimmed eyes, he felt his heart break as he saw just how much she had been hurting.

Because, unlike himself, somehow always knowing that he would find her again, Meredith had been prepared for the eventuality of never after.

"I can't do this now."

He had been so caught up in her eyes, he hadn't seen her facial expression change into something set. Something determined. And she was looking at him head on, with a _very _resolute look in her eyes. As quickly as he'd found an internal skyrocketing balance of happiness, it melted a little to something resembling apprehension.

"Meredith-"

"I love you. I do. You know that. But I can't just jump into this again. I don't trust you. You have several lose ends that need to be tied up."

He nodded silently, trying to digest her words.

"We can date. I want to date. I want to get to know you without major secrets- any secrets- because I want this, Derek. Forever. But forever takes time."

"I understand."

"Do you?"

He kissed her forehead and grabbed her hand into his.

"Yes. Because I want forever too. If I have to wait, so be it. It's going to be perfect this time around. I promise."

She smiled a little, and leaned back in the swing.

"Have you talked to Meg?"

"No. But I'm going to later today. She'll be thrilled…if she'll answer my call."

"You've only missed a year. And if she's been in school, she was busy anyway. Plus all that traveling. You should go see her."

"I will. Eventually. She won't tell me her address until we've talked a little, I'm sure. But Mark probably knows, so I might just bite the bullet and defy her wishes and ask him."

"You talked to Mark?"

"He took care of her for me. He watched out for her. It doesn't erase what he did with Addison, but right now, Addison's my ex-wife, and Meg is, and always will be my daughter. Which trumps an adulterous affair."

"That's big of you."

He turned to look at her, and gave a half smile.

"I think you'd really like her."

"Meg?"

"Yeah."

"I hope so. I think I will. Once you two patch things up."

"She said there are things about her I won't like. So did Mark. I'm afraid she'll have this whole new life that I'm not going to be able to be a part of."

"You can always try. And keep trying."

She laid her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her.

"And, of course, she'll always be welcome into our life."

It was the most perfect thing she could have said, and Derek fought hard against the burning sensation in his eyes. He pulled her closer and rested his head on top of hers as they watched the world around them, and thought about their future.

-----

Please, please review!

I'm a review whore….


	13. Things Yet Unseen

The next evening, Sunday night, Meg walked into the kitchen laden down with groceries. She was holding four plastic bags that were overflowing, and as she finally got them all on the island, Andy walked into the kitchen from the hall.

"Hey. You should have called out."

"I didn't want to disturb you. You're supposed to be upstairs attending to the bills."

"I finished _ages_ ago."

"And we've got enough money?"

She said it smirkingly, completely aware that they were overflowing with money.

"I think between what I earn at the hospital, and your _million_ dollar contract with Addidas, we're good."

Not many in Seattle were aware of it, but Meg was somewhat of a celebrity athlete. On the East Coast, where ice skating was most prominent, many people had heard of her or watched her on ESPN's ice skating competitions. To make spending money while she was still underage (and unable to sign with anyone professionally) she had done some modeling, and been extremely lucky to be part of a major GAP billboard campaign at the age of sixteen. From there, she had done a series of ads for JCrew and American Eagle that featured in magazines, on bags, and on billboards. While people didn't know her name as much, her face was pretty well recognized by the teenage age group most likely to shop in those stores. In Russia and Switzerland, she was like a goddess. Since she had spent a long time in both places and entered every competition and exhibition that they held, she was known nationally throughout the countries. Addidas invested in the most promising athletes, and since she marketed well (especially internationally), was known on the sports scene, and was drop dead gorgeous, they had signed her to several endorsement contracts. She promoted shoes and an athletic bag, and her agent had hinted that after she placed at nationals and progressed to the World Championships, she might be offered a deal with Revlon. While she didn't think of herself as a model, it was easy money, and didn't take up much time. Ice skating was an incredibly expensive sport, and while Derek made a lot of money (and didn't do a lot with it), for Meg to live somewhat independently, she had wanted her own income.

She'd been sixteen when she started. Derek had hardly noticed.

It was only when the checking account he'd opened for her showed no transactions and he was notified, that he really understood. Even then it had only really been an afterthought that she'd gotten a job. Good for her.

Shaking the thoughts, she turned to put the groceries away, and Andy sat on the counter and watched her. Long ago he'd learned that when she wanted help in the kitchen, she'd ask for it.

"So. How'd it go?"

"Fine. I'm sore."

"That's good."

"So I've heard."

She quickly packed the fridge back up, and went to stand in front of him. He spread his legs a little, and she walked right up to the counter, leaning her head onto his chest.

"Wanna soak and watch a movie?"

"That sounds heavenly."

"I'll go run the bath."

Meg moved aside so he could jump off and go upstairs to run her a bath. She went to the fridge to get out some white wine, and poured herself a glass to sip on. Just as she put the bottle back in the fridge, her cell phone rang, and she grabbed it.

"Hello?"

"…Meg…"

She felt her heart dip a little as she heard her fathers voice, and immediately walked over to the couch in the living room.

"Hi."

On the other end, Derek sighed, and tried to imagine what his daughter was doing at that moment. He could almost see her twirling a lock of hair around her finger again and again, trying to pick her words carefully.

"How have you been?"

"I've been great."

"That's good. Been keeping busy."

"Yes."

"I'm sorry I haven't called since we had breakfast. I had to get some stuff sorted out."

He waited for her to say something, but she just remained silent.

"Addison and I talked…we're getting a divorce."

She waited a beat.

"I'm sorry. That must be hard."

"Well, it's for the best. We gave it a go. We tried. But we're just not meant to be together anymore."

"Right."

Derek paused again, and wished for the umpteenth time that he was a better person. That he hadn't made a mess of every aspect of his life save his professional career. Everything about the situation he was in made him upset and angry and he was farther from his daughter than he'd ever been. Until he rectified the situation with Meg, he wouldn't be able to have a true relationship with Meredith, and any relationship with Meredith without Meg involved wouldn't be what his heart yearned for anyway. In short, he couldn't have one woman (or girl) without the other. They were both his family, along with the rest of the interns. Even Karev.

"Listen, Meg, I know I seem to be continually apologizing, but I am sorry. And I'm trying to fix things. Hopefully, we can have a better relationship without Addison."

"She wasn't the _reason_, Dad."

"No. But she was a roadblock for you. The reason was that I was absent. And that's nobody's fault but my own. Whatever it was that brought you to Seattle, I'm happy, because it allows me to try and redeem myself. To mend this."

"What about…Meredith…?"

"Meredith is important to me. I love her. But you're my daughter-"

"I don't need the spiel about how you'll always love me. You're my father. I know that. Where are you with Meredith?"

"We're taking things slow."

"Yeah?"

Though she couldn't see him, he nodded. Derek had left Meredith at her house, content in the knowledge that they were going to try again, and they were going to do it right. Understandably, she had needed time to think, and Derek was surprised to find himself alright with taking it slow. Relishing every moment had it's positive angels as well.

"Yeah. So. Have lunch with me this week?"

"I'm on a tight schedule this week. But next week should be better."

"Lots of training?"

"Yeah. Scarlet's flying out."

Scarlet Fillmore was one of Meg's technical coaches. Pavel supervised her general progression, but Scarlet was specifically brought in to work on every technicality. She only worked with Meg in intervals, giving her time to progress and polish what they worked on each time. She had won the World Championships and taken second at the Olympics in Lillehammer, and was considered to be one of the best technical coaches in the US. She divided her time between Meg and Shandi Davidson, the other US hopeful and a good friend of Meg's.

"You concentrate then. Training going alright?"

"Of course. Just tiring."

"Alright. You do sound tired. Good luck this week."

"Thanks."

"And call me about lunch?"

"I will."

"Alright."

"Bye."

"Meg?"

She had been about to hang up, and paused.

"I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you too, Dad."

They both hung up, and she went upstairs to find Andy, who had run the tub and was getting everything ready. She leaned against the doorjamb and smiled as she watched him light the three candles that were set on the bathtub's thick rim. He had taken off the shirt, and as she looked at him with something in her eyes, he put the lighter down on the counter and walked to her, pulling her into his arms, and then pulling off her shirt…

----

The next day, Derek joined the rest of the interns for lunch in the hospital courtyard. Everyone had already been appraised of the situation, and apart from some "I'll kill him if he hurts you"'s from George and Alex, they supported the new relationship. Even Cristina had turned out to be surprisingly supportive, and had given Meredith a tight smile and then embraced her- quickly- but it had happened.

"So. Eileen Mattherson. My patient in 312. she's having seizures. No apparent cause."

Meredith and Cristina looked at each other slyly, remembering their first case together.

"Could it be an aneurism?"

Derek laughed and shook his head.

"That was the first thing I checked when I hit a roadblock, but no such luck."

He continued to eat his sandwich and discuss the possibilities with George and Alex, who were quite happy to be cozying up to the attending again. Since the night of the prom, both men had formed a rather strong friendship- especially as they were outnumbered by Meredith, Izzy and Callie in the house.

They all talked about the general guide of the day, until Meredith looked up to see Andy buying a salad from the cart. He walked by them on his way back in, but Meredith stopped him by putting a hand up to latch onto his arm.

"Hey."

He smiled and nodded at the group in general."

"Hi."

"Come and have lunch with us."

He gave an apologetic smile.

"Can't. Lab's been backed up all day, and I've finally got a spot in. But thanks. Enjoy the weather."

He went back inside and made his way towards the lab. Both Meredith and Izzy stared after him, confused by his actions. The lab hadn't been _that _backed up, and he always ate lunch with them.

"So what's the deal with Carmichael? I've only had him on two of my cases, and both times they were partnered up."

Izzy immediately launched into a verbal repertoire of Andy's praises.

"He's absolutely amazing. I mean, he's so unusual. Completely emotionally stable and reliable and he seems to be totally comfortable with who he is. For being twenty-four, that isn't bad at all."

Alex rolled his eyes.

"Blah, blah, blah. He walks on water, _we know._"

He leaned in closer as if to talk to Derek privately.

"These two have been gaga ever since the Baby and his girlfriend walked into our _humble _lives. M-Dawg I get, I mean, she's gorgeous, but why date a doctor when you're fabulous on your own?"

The entire spiel was sarcastic and both women pelted him with bits of celery and carrot.

"He seems like a good doctor. Webber was particularly happy with his decision to join Seattle Grace."

Cristina snorted and rolled her eyes.

"A Brookings Academy grad? No duh."

"Does he ever talk about it?"

Meredith looked up from her pasta salad.

"About Brookings? Yeah. It sounds like a monstrosity of a place. I mean, when you think about it, there might not be as many students, but they're so spread out and so specialized, he says it was almost hard to meet people. Because everyone's so driven. Meeting other students outside your specialization was pretty much impossible."

"It _is_ huge."

Hearing the words from Meredith's lips made Derek consider how little the odds were that Andy had ever even met Meg. With her traveling, and his being in medical school, plus the six year difference, they would never have had time to meet. That Meg had always been so devoted to her skating made the chances even slimmer. She wasn't the type to attend school events or stay out late with friends- everything about her was dedicated and concentrated.

What Derek didn't know was that on one particularly beautiful afternoon, Meg's best friend Shannon had dragged her along to see Shannon's brother compete in the school crew match.

He didn't know that the one day of relaxation and fun in the sun had changed his daughter's (and his) life forever.

---

_**Skating Complex: 2pm the next day**_

"Again, Meg. You aren't getting the lift. Your left foot needs to curl in a bit more."

"I don't know how to get the air and the curl in if I'm taking the jump like that."

Meg stood in the middle of the ice arena, frustrated and uncomfortable. She was wearing a deep blue skating outfit, and it made her both irritated and angry. With Scarlet, she always wore traditional- yet extremely simple- skating costumes, so that Scarlet could better see and critique her body. The slave driver herself was wearing black sweatpants (rather form fitting, actually) and a red turtleneck. She was the ideal picture, ironically enough, of Miss Scarlet from the game _Clue_. Her jet black hair was pulled into a French braid, and though she wore skates as well, Meg saw no reason for them since Scarlet hardly ever demonstrated during preliminary sessions.

"It's a difficult mount, Meg. That's why we're doing it."

"I'm aware of that. Thank you."

"Take the jump again."

She began her circling, and tried to do the footwork into the jump, lifting off to get the three wrap arounds. Unfortunately, she never quite got the air, and fell before she even completed her first spin. Sitting on her but on the ice, she quelled the urge to scream like a three year old and throw a temper tantrum. Ice skating required more patience than most people would have thought Meg possible of.

"Come on, Margaret. Do it again. You've gotten lazy."

"I'm not lazy. I just haven't been this intense in a month."

She got up, and took the jump again.

And fell.

Again.

Six more times later, she was still falling. But her leg was curling under a bit more, so monumental progress had been made. Ice skating was an excruciating sport. Each minute movement took hundreds and thousands of tries to accomplish, making it hard to really pinpoint progress as it happens.

"Get some water. Keep hydrated."

They skated to the side, and Meg opened her bottle to slowly drink. She was always careful to take small sips of the cold water she kept waiting for her, because her over active body tended to get the intensive muscle cramps when she took in drinks that cold. Scarlett had her own bottle, and they enjoyed the sunshine streaming into the complex.

"So. How's Shandi?"

"She's doing well. Real well."

Meg liked to think that ice skating was an extremely classy sport. Because it was such an expensive past time and there were only so many top notch coaches and technical staffers to go around, everybody knew everybody else's business. The girls who got to the very top tended to see each other at every competition, and trade off coaches and staff alike. Consequently, most of them became rather friendly. Shandi Davidson had always been with Meg. She had trained with Pavel when she was younger, and also attended Brookings at his urging. The two girls had lived together in Sweeden, and lived across the hall from each other in Moscow. They were extremely close friends, and Meg missed the constant friendship they had shared.

"That's great. The knee isn't giving her much trouble?"

"No. But you know her. She's careful."

"She wouldn't be in such good shape now if she wasn't."

Scarlet turned to face her a bit more.

"I did see Catalina when I was in New York."

Catalina Morrison was Meg's biggest rival. She was just under a year younger than Meg, but the two girls had gone head to head countless times over the years. She trained with Cristiano Kharov, one of the toughest coaches in the sport. He drove her harder on a good day than most coaches would dare to push their skaters on their hardest day, and because of it, Catalina had become well known for her bitchy attitude. Unfortunately, Catalina was also one of the best. She did nothing but skate and train, and it showed.

On the other hand, Leanne Fernandes, a busty redhead from L.A. could give Catalina, and everyone else a run for their money. The 'party girl', as she was known, could go out drinking the night before, and easily sweep the short competition in the morning. She had an infectious laughter, and was as well liked on the circuit as Meg or Shandi.

Everyone in the world of skating was gearing up for the upcoming season, because the four girls were at their peak, and considered to be the very best in American skating.

"I imagine she was condescending and nosy."

Scarlet shrugged.

"Catalina was ruined early on. Cristiano is a hard man. But even you have to admit. This move comes completely out of the blue. Everyone back east is talking about it. Seattle? They're saying you ran after your boyfriend and the training is lacking. Obviously they're wrong about the training, but what are you doing?"

Meg just tossed her head and had some more water.

"Let them talk. This is where I train…I wanted out. I wanted out, and I needed out. And Seattle was the answer."

Sighing deeply, the older woman moved a little closer to Meg, even though there was nobody else in the warehouse.

"Have you talked about it with Andy?"

She knew immediately what the former champion was talking about. Avoiding her eye, she locked her jaw and stared angrily at the sun streaming windows.

"I've gained the weight back, haven't I?"

At Scarlet's accusing look, Meg shook her head.

"No. We haven't talked about it. But he plies me with food, demands we eat together as often as humanly possible, and practically force feeds me when he has to."

"It's a dangerous pattern to fall into."

"You _think_ I don't know that?"

She turned to skate away, but Scarlet grabbed her arm and yanked her back. Over the years, Scarlet had become a friend _and _mentor, helping to prepare both of her pupils (Meg as well as Shandi) for the rigors of competition skating. Her knee injury just after Lillehammer had prevented her from ever considering international competition again, but she had been in the inner circle for long enough to remember just what it was like. With the media and the cut throat international competition these days, the pressure had only increased.

"Listen to me. I know the temptations. The lure of skipping a meal. Maybe two. Leaving a portion uneaten-"

"I'm not stupid-"

"Shut up, I'm not finished. Running that extra, extra mile and needing to get that extra half inch of air on a triple toe loop than everybody else-"

"I know, the dangers Scarlet-"

"Laura Carpenter hurt her ankle last week in practice. Hairline fracture. She's off the ice for two weeks. Melanie Sanderson sprained her wrist in a fall yesterday. She's off for a month. You have four months till nationals. International is looking harder than it ever has before. Francesca Gerardi just landed her quad into a toe loop. She's made Italy feel pretty comfortable. Clair Frankunbaur took the German pre-nationals with ease, and you know damn well that Russia and France are sitting smug on Katya and Dominique. _Everybody_ has lined up their ducks, and they're all ready for the championships. Nationals aren't the issue. _They're all waiting for us_. American nationals are going to decide the championships, _and _the Olympics. It isn't chance anymore. You have the entire world waiting to see who takes nationals. It's equal chance for the four of you, but you've got more behind you than Shandi, and LeAnne's having trouble with her sit-spin. It's going to come down to who can take nationals, and then take the championships. Laura and Melanie are good, but they can't do it, you know that. So between you and Shandi and Catalina and LeAnne, someone's going to have to go out on the limb against the rest of the world."

Meg knew what Scarlet was talking about. The top three skaters at nationals in an Olympic year automatically advanced to the qualifying rounds of the Olympics. However, if a skater won the World Championships in an Olympic year, she was guaranteed a spot for her country at the games, outside of the three reserved spots. That meant that one country would send four skaters, while everybody else could only enter three. The girl who placed fourth at nationals would be moved up while the person who won the championships was granted immunity. For the past two games, Russia had sent four skaters, and the US only three. With four girls who could potentially win a gold medal at the Olympics, the US wanted to win the championships.

"I get it."

"So now isn't the time to be competing in an unhealthy race with the rest of the skating diva's. You're right. You're secluded here. And Shandi's fighting the pressure that the Russian Katya is putting on everybody else."

"How much did she lose?"

Scarlet sighed again.

"That's not the point, Meg. It doesn't matter. The entire Russian team has lost enough weight between them to kill a whole skater. You can't sink into these patterns again."

"Well, I'm out of Russia now."

"Meg, you were losing weight before you even met Andrew. Don't make the mistake of ignoring a problem to hope it goes away."

"I was surrounded by it. That's partly why we left New York, even if Andy won't confront it directly. I never let the problem get too much, and I'm not about to let it escalate now."

"The problem has a name, Maggie."

Meg had skated out a few feet after her last statement, but turned and looked at Scarlet with a fierce look in her eyes.

"You think it's anorexia? You really think that's what it is, Scarlet? It's more than that now. It isn't a disease available to the public at large. It's a freaking _game_. It's what the sport has turned into behind closed doors. You think Katya Petrofski started it? She started dropping kilo's after Francesca from Italy wore a backless dress to the European MTV awards. It's an international competition to see who can get more air on a jump."

"It's a slower form of Russian Roulette."

"So what are we complaining about? I'm normal again? You can weigh me."

At that, Scarlet threw the water bottle over the side and skated to Meg.

"How often _do_ you weigh yourself, Meg? Once a day? Twice?"

"Once a week."

They held eye contact for a long moment, before Scarlet acquiesced and stepped back a little.

"See that it stays that way…Now do the jump again."

----

I took a lot of liberty with how the skating circuit runs, just for the purpose of this story. And I didn't mean to just load it down at the end, but it's important to see the undercurrents and dynamics in Andy and Meg's relationship!

Please review!


	14. Building The Feeling

That night when Meg went home, she found Izzy and Alex sitting with Andy, drinking a bottle of St. James and watching a made for tv movie.

"Hey."

They greeted her happily, and she poured herself a glass of the wine. To Andy's great surprise, she slid into the space next to him, and stretched out her feet onto the coffee table. Her sessions with Scarlet exhausted her, and in his experience with Meg, she had always gone straight to bath, and then bed. Instead, she joined into the relaxed conversation with Izzy and Alex until Andy got up to get her a plate of the grilled Caesar salad he'd made. While she waited for him to get back, and conversed with Alex and Izzy, she noticed something odd. Both of them would talk to her, but they weren't saying a word to each other. It took her a while to realize it, and when she did, she was severely weirded out. They didn't seem to be angry with each other, but they wouldn't talk to the other. As she shipped on her St. James, she wondered what it was all about, and when Andy brought her salad back, she suggested to Izzy they take it out on the deck.

"So where is everyone?"

"Meredith and Cristina have a patient who goes into full seizures at the drop of a hat, so they're on call. And George and Callie were just tired."

After a long day's session inside the ice rink, she was always up to some heat. The combination of being freezing and working hard to keep herself warm often played havoc with her body.

They lit some of the deck candles and the solar lamps were on, providing them with enough light to sit and talk by. Sitting at the table, Meg tentatively ate at the salad, trying not to eat it too quickly. She often felt sick if she ate so soon after such a workout.

"So. Did Andy call and tell you the hospital's latest gossip?"

"No. I've been so busy all day, I haven't even talked to him."

"You're clued in on the whole drama that is Meredith's life?"

"From several sources. Riveting, I must say."

They both laughed, and Izzy poured herself some more wine (they'd grabbed the whole bottle to take with them).

"Well. McDreamy left his wife and they signed the divorce papers today."

"So he really did it."

Izzy nodded, and pushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"How did his wife take it?"

"She's a pretty cool lady. Always polite always put together. So she was her usual business self."

"It's hard."

"Yeah. So Meredith and McDreamy are giving it a real shot now. But they're taking it slow. Supposedly."

"_Supposedly_? Skeptical much?"

Izzy had the good grace to smile, and Meredith thought she saw a blush even though it was dark.

"They can't do slow. Right now, they're waiting for Derek to patch things up with his daughter, and Meredith claims that the three of them need to be on the same page before they can move forward, but she and McDreamy can't do slow. They're eventually going to just go to bed together and then jump into a relationship. I think his daughter is just an excuse for Meredith to delay everything. Get all her ducks in order."

"But she loves him."

"Oh yeah. She adores him…but she's scared. She jumped heart first last time, and look where it landed her. The kid could provide a whole set of new issues…But Meredith also has this 'feeling' that everything's going to be fine. They're being honest and all, so that's that."

Meg picked at the chicken salad, and Izzy smiled.

"He's pretty good in the kitchen. Didn't even start that till we arrived."

"Yeah. He picks up things fast. My grandmother taught him to cook a little."

The laugh lines around Izzy's eyes crinkled a little bit as she smiled curiously.

"Really?"

Meg nodded.

"I learned a lot of stuff from Brookings, but my grandmother taught me the finer points of everything. Now she's teaching all my little cousins."

"How many do you have?"

"Nine."

"Seriously?"

Laughing, Meg had some more of the wine.

"I have four aunts. Casey, Daphne, Joanna, but we just call her Janna, and Nancy. You want the breakdown to that?"

Izzy nodded sweetly.

"I come from a small family."

"I envy you. Well, Daphne has two, she married a business consultant, Tom, and they live in San Diego. My Aunt Casey lives in New York with her husband partner Francesca, while my Aunt Janna is still in New York her four. And Janna has three with her husband Cal. They live in Albany."

"That's a large family. Are you guys close?"

"Yes. The whole family. Aunt Daphne and Tom used to fly out all the time. It's a pretty tightly knit bunch. I love all my cousins. I don't see them often enough, though."

"You're pretty far away."

Meg smiled sadly and nodded, remembering snapshots of family get togethers. The last few years hadn't been the same for her, because she and Derek had been distant, and he'd been gone for the past year altogether. His absence had put stress on the whole family, and there was a note of tension to the gatherings that hadn't been there before.

"We talk all the time."

They lapsed into silence for a long time, enjoying the feel of the summer air, and lost in their own private thoughts. Meg felt herself feel unexpectedly bad for her father's divorce. She hadn't liked Addison as a mother, but as a woman, she really was something. And they had always provided a semi-stable life. They'd loved her. It was the end of an era for all three of them, and the beginning of a new one. She was also wondering if she was preventing the relationship between her father and Meredith.

"I gave Alex head."

The statement came from such an extreme field and was so extreme in its own nature, that Meg practically choked on the wine she had been sipping at.

"I'm sorry?"

"I gave Alex head."

Izzy was looking over the pool, and not at her, so Meg took the opportunity to try and clear her airway.

"Right. Right."

"I'm sorry. Is this uncomfortable?"

"No…no, it's fine."

Sighing, the blonde laid her head against the back of the chair and let her gaze glaze over a little bit.

"I didn't mean to spring it, but I haven't really been able to talk to everyone; the baby floor is not the place for such things, and Meredith doesn't really come up there because of Addison, and George has Callie and they're together every waking moment. And we're friends. Friends talk."

"Of course they do Izzy. It's absolutely fine. So…when did this happen."

"Last night. I woke up, and it was really late, and he was sleeping there, and he's been so amazing, you know? Patient and wonderful-"

"So this was gratitude head?"

"No! It's just…the way I loved Denny, I don't think you just get over it and move on. When you love like that, I think, you get over it _for _someone. Someone who can help you. Someone who loves you and who you think you could love too. And that's Alex."

"What did he say?"

She gave a little laugh.

"Well, he couldn't really say anything. I mean, he was sleeping, and then I had slid down and-"

"Got it. So you haven't said anything since?"

"No. We haven't said much of anything. All day."

"He's probably confused, Iz."

"I know. But I am too. I don't want to make a mess of things."

"He's a good guy…I think he'll understand."

They lapsed into silence again, both contemplating Izzy's problem. Meg was having trouble staying awake, and was also feeling pain from every muscle in her body. Sessions with Scarlet took so much out of her, and she rarely tried to stay awake afterwards. Now she understood why. Before long Alex came to collect Izzy, since they both had to be at the hospital the next day. Andy bid them goodbye, but as soon as she could she went upstairs and changed into her nightshirt. Brushing her teeth and washing her face quickly, Meg jumped into bed, and was already settled by the time that Andy came up. He followed similar suit, and when he had turned off the lights, slid in beside her. She spooned against him with his chest to her back, and sighed deeply as his arm encircled her waist.

"Hey."

"Hey."

He pressed a kiss to her neck, and traced a pattern on her stomach.

"You didn't have to stay up. Working with Scarlet's tiring."

"I know. But I wanted to. I'm sick of having no life. Being a slave to the skating."

"Okay."

They lay together for a long while, each sleeking sleep. Meg kept drifting in and out, and even though she was exhausted, she couldn't seem to sleep. Finally, she rolled onto her back, placing her almost under him. She reached her head up the slightest bit to place kisses along his jaw line and neck.

"Andy."

His hand slid to her waist and he groaned.

"I thought you were tired."

"I am…I can't sleep."

He sighed deeply and rolled her completely underneath him. He'd worn only boxers and a wife beater to bed, and while he braced himself on his arms, she worked the wifebeater off his body. She did the same with her shirt until she was naked from the waist up. Then she reached up and pulled him down to her, wrapping her arms around his head. Wrapping herself around his heart.

------

Meg continued to train with Scarlet for the week, and Andy tried his best to avoid Meredith and Derek. It was hard, because he suddenly went from being with her all the time, to never seemingly being around. Hanging out with Derek on personal time (even during lunch breaks) was difficult. He always felt like he was going to say the wrong thing and blow his cover. As if he were a super secret agent/spy. Even more than that, he always felt like a liar, because the new Derek (post-divorce, present-Meredith) was a disgustingly nice and happy guy.

Meredith had begun to notice that his excuses were getting more feeble by the hour, and on Friday night she backed him into a corner. Or dinner. Whichever.

It was how he found himself at Georgio's Italian Restaurant, sitting between Izzy and George, and almost directly across the round table from Derek. Everyone was talkative and cheerful all evening long, but he kept mostly to himself and didn't really speak unless spoken to. He was brooding inside, pissed at the circumstances, pissed at Derek, and pissed at Meg for putting him in this position. She'd even met Derek that morning for breakfast, but she insisted that she wasn't ready to tell him the truth yet.

They were lingering on desert, because nobody had the urge to leave. Except Andy. He'd managed to get through the whole dinner without really saying anything, and was just swirling the wine around his glass at this point. Izzy rolled her neck, trying to work out the kinks, and he absently put a hand to the back of her neck, massaging with one hand. The gesture was so completely non-sexual, that even Alex's jealous personality took no notice of it.

"So. Andy. I'm sure you've already told it a million times, but how does a top notch Brookings grad such as yourself wind up in Seattle."

Shrugging slightly, he threw Izzy a smile and she squeezed his knee as he continued to rub circles with his thumb and forefinger on her neck.

"Needed a change."

Derek gave a small laugh and nodded his head.

"I understand. But Seattle's pretty far away from New York- unless, you have family out here?"

"No. My family's from Boston."

George looked at him in surprise.

"Really?"

"Yeah. My whole family's from around there."

Derek lifted his eyebrows in questioning again, and Andrew just smiled.

"I needed a good program. Outside of the east coast hospitals that we trained at, and I knew Seattle Grace had one of the top internships in the country."

"Fair enough."

He had some more of his wine, and Andy forced himself to keep his grip light on his own wine glass, as well as his grip on Izzy's neck.

"So. Meredith tells me you used to do crew."

"Yes."

Andrew would have left it at that, but it would have been too obvious.

"I started pretty early on. Besides. It's the hot sport there. That and soccer. Gets all the girls."

Everyone laughed, including Andy.

"Brookings requires the study abroad, doesn't it?"

All of the med students at Brookings had to do a session of two weeks of field training. They had their pick anywhere in the world, though many chose to go somewhere they could actually learn something.

"Yes. I went to Kenya."

The rest of the table was silenced, and Derek nodded thoughtfully.

"Aid camps?"

"Yeah. It was…uh, it was an experience. I'd like to go back. Spend some extended time there…we'll see."

Nobody said anything for a moment, so Andy refilled Izzy's wine glass.

"Come on sweetie. Liquor up."

They all laughed again, and went back to discussing nonsensical things. It didn't go on for much longer, and after everyone had been kissed goodnight, Andy made the drive home. The whole way he stewed, and drove in silence, allowing him to concentrate on the anger. When he got to the house, he parked quickly and put the garage door down, then went inside and checked all the locks before he went upstairs. Meg was sitting up on her side of the bed reading with the bedside lamp when he walked in, and she looked up in surprise.

"Hey. I didn't even hear you come in."

She raised up the thin rectangle glasses she used for reading and put the issue of Time into her lap. Andy was walking around the room, taking off his watch and blazer and putting on his glasses.

"How was it?"

"It was fine, Margaret."

She paused at that, because Andy only ever called her Margaret when he was looking for a fight.

"You're angry."

He gave a sarcastic laugh.

"Yeah. I'm angry. I'm pretty fucking angry."

Putting the magazine on her bedside table, she put her folded glasses on top of it, and put the covers down her legs a little. She was only wearing a pair of his blue boxers and an old Brookings Academy t-shirt a little bit undersized and tight.

"Andy. I know it's frustrating-"

"Frustrating doesn't even begin to cover it, Meg. I'm pissed. I'm pissed and I'm embarrassed and I feel like a fraud."

"Sweetheart-"

"A liar, Meg. I'm a liar."

She threw the covers aside and crawled over the bed to kneel behind him.

"You are not!"

"Every time he looks at me, or talks to me, or sees me, I feel like I'm lying. Because I am. He's an amazing surgeon. A doctor, Meg. My teacher. And Meredith's a friend, as well as so much more, and I'm just sick of it."

"It's only-"

"Why, Meg? Why can't you forgive him. So he was a lousy father. People have lousy fathers. They go through their whole lives with lousy fathers. You have a guy who was lousy for a few years and you're destroying any chance of a solid future relationship with him. What happened, Meg? You just call me up one day from Russia, and tell me your dad left your step mom and went to Seattle, and now we're living here and you're still angry."

"Andy-"

"No, Meg. Out with it. It's gone on, and it's going to go on. These people are in our lives, he's your father, Meredith's your friend and someday our children will call them Grandma and Grandpa so why don't you just give me the god damn truth."

He seemed to deflate a bit the moment the words got out, and she hesitantly wrapped her arms around him from behind. Placing a kiss on the center of his neck, she rubbed her nosed against it, and sighed.

"Do you remember the Holiday Classic?"

"Of course."

The holiday classic was one of the foremost international skating competitions on the tour. It was a week long intensive competition that had five rounds, and the winner was always one of the best amateur skaters in the world. The previous year, Meg had won the Classic full out. It had been her first single international sweep (having come in second or third at multiple international events), and winning one of the biggest had meant the world to her. It had also established her as a serious contender for the Olympics.

"You were supposed to meet him that night. Remember? He was supposed to come, and see me skate and then we were all going to go out to dinner so you could finally meet him?"

She was kneeling on her knees, and spread them a little wider around his lower back so that she was really just sitting on the bed and had him cradled.

"Yeah. He didn't show."

"And I told you that his surgery ran over. Because that was always why he didn't show."

"Meg-"

"He walked in on Addison with Mark."

There was a moment of silence, during which Andy tightened his hands over hers, and bent his head down a little bit farther as she lined her forehead up with the back of it.

"That was…"

"The night. Yes. He walked in, saw Addison and Mark, left and went to the airport, and got on a plane to San Diego to see Aunt Daphne. They've always been the closest. He just walked out. And that ate at me for a long time. He missed the biggest night of my life. The most important event."

"Babe-"

"His marriage was crumbling. I understand. I really, really do. His world was crashing down and all that, but I guess I just wasn't used to being so completely disregarded. He never called, you know, to say sorry. He just forgot. Three days later he said he was in San Diego and that he'd left Addison, but he never connected the dots. I love him, Andy, I really do. And I hope he's happy with Meredith. But I built up months and months of resentment over that, and I'm not about to let him burst this perfect life I've made."

He turned his head and kissed her, long and slow and deep, just the way she loved it.

"Soon, then?"

"Yeah."

Getting up, Andy got ready for bed, then crawled in next to her and wrapped her in his arms.

"I love you, you know."

"I know."

Lifting her chin up so he could look her in the eyes, he sweetly kissed her and gave a small smile.

"I would do anything for you."

"I know."

She rolled so that she was on top of him and slipped her leg between his."

"You know how I feel."

He brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, slowly rubbing her cheek with the back of his hand.

"God, you're beautiful."

And then they rolled into their usual sleeping position, spooned together, and went straight to sleep.

More up soon!

PLEASE review!


	15. You, My Daughter

Sorry! I accidently uploaded the first chapter again, as you all noticed. But after this, I promise another chapter up soon!

----

The next morning, Meg left a sleeping Andy and did her usual run before taking a quick shower and throwing on a blue jean skirt with a red collared shirt. She went to practice and had a hard workout before showering and driving to the usual Greek diner that she and Derek had become fond of, happy to find him already there. She slid into the booth and ordered a hot lemon tea and took the menu as she sat back to relax.

"You look tired."

"I am. I went for an extra long run this morning."

Derek looked appreciative.

"That's great. Meredith and I went running too."

"You can't run. You jog."

"I run."

"We've gone over this before."

Laughing and trying to drink his coffee, Derek shook his head.

"According to the population of America, I run."

"You've never been able to keep up with me."

"Nobody can."

'_Andy can_.' The thought came out of nowhere, and she closed her mouth before she actually said it to him and spoiled everything.

"Uncle Matt can almost keep up. We used to go on the Norton Trail by Gamma and Nonno's house. He's in pretty good shape."

"I know. I went down to see them for the weekend a couple months ago. I don't know how he and Daphne do it."

"They're committed. I'm glad I'm closer to them now, but being so far from Nonno's hard. Especially now that Gamma's teaching all the cousins how to cook. They're so cute. And really, so hopeless."

"So. How was your evening?"

"It was fine. Quiet."

"Do anything interesting?"

"Not really. Just watched a movie."

Trying to glance down at the menu and covertly watch her, Derek attempted to fish for more.

"Oh. By yourself?"

She put the menu down in mock exasperation and gave him an 'out with it' look.

"I know. I know. I suck at espionage. But come on. I don't know where you live. Where you train; anything. Do you have roommates? Do you eat alone every night? Nothing."

"Dad, I've been eating alone for years now. But no. I don't eat alone."

"Ah hah. You know I called the Grandparents. Yeah. I gave in. begged them for details."

"They give you anything?"

"Nothing. Note one little piece. My own parents- my mother!"

Meg had begged Kathleen and Harrison not to tell her father anything. It had taken an entire afternoon for them to agree, but they'd done it. At first, everyone in the family had been opposed to her relationship with Andy. All four aunts- and their husbands- had been staunchly against a relationship with a man so much older than she was. But at Christmas, Andy had worked his magic. He helped her Grandmother in the kitchen. Played for hours in the snow with the children. Lost badly at poker with the uncles, and waited patiently and considerately while Meg went shopping with the aunts. That Derek and Addison had been notably absent at Christmas dinner only served to further Andrew's case as the man in her life. When they moved to Seattle together (after a very strong crusade against Kathleen's wishes), everyone seemed to jump on the "Derek must change" bandwagon.

"So then I proceeded to call my sisters."

"Oh?"

"Oh yes. And everyone said the same thing."

"What was that?"

"She'll tell yu when she's ready."

"How interesting."

He looked at her wryly and she grinned.

"Mmm. I wonder why that is. How you seemed to get the whole family- Gamma and Nonno included- to sing to your tune."

Meg just raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"After you left, I went over for dinner every Friday night when I was home. Gamma started watching the Gilmore Girls and thought it might be a nice idea. So I went."

"Alright. I understand war tactics. But Casey? Nancy? Janna _and _Daphne?"

Laughing, meg sipped on her water.

"We had a family meeting."

"When?"

"May 13th."

Derek paused for a moment, thinking hard.

"Lizzie's birthday!"

Lizzi was Daphne's youngest daughter, and the current belle of the Shepherd family. At two, she was constantly babbling and chattering- to nobody in particular. With her little ringlets and sweet nature, everybody adored her.

"Everyone got together, then? Why wasn't I invited?"

"You had already been voted off the island."

"I'm glad my family has so much faith in me…Gamma was pretty upset when I told her about the divorce."

Meg smiled sadly.

"Gamma just wants you to give her grandchildren. She's terrified you won't get married for another twenty years. And by then it'll be too late."

"I've already given her a grandchild. And she has fourteen more."

"Real grandchildren."

Derek had been playing with the cup of plastic contained cream, but looked up sharply. Meg was engrossed in the menu, and it took her a moment to realize his penetrating gaze.

"You _are_ a real grandchild, Margaret."

"Oh, I know. But you know what I mean. She wants one of your babies. One of your own."

"Maybe someday. Depending on what Meredith wants. Addison always wanted a baby, but I said no for years."

"Didn't want another child at the time?"

"No."

He looked up to meet her eyes;

"I just always thought that you were enough. More children would have been pointless…I went through a tough time when you were younger. Seven or eight, I think."

"What happened?"

"There was a moment where I was operating on a man who'd been hit by a drunk driver, and I found myself thinking how thankful I was that Sean had died. I was thankful my best friend had died because it brought me my little girl."

Meg didn't know what to say, but she hastily wiped away the tears in her eeys. Derek leaned across the table and grabbed her hand.

"You were the best thing ever to happen to me. I missed out on so much, but I'm not going to do that again."

"Do you want to come to the complex with me? If you have time?"

"I'd love to."

"Are you sure? If you have to be at the hospital-"

Derek shook his head.

"I have a brain tumor I have to work on this evening, but that's not till seven."

"Great."

They had a wonderful lunch, chatting freely, then Derek followed her to the complex. She let them into the building, and he waited as she changed. Pulling on the leotard and black pants quickly, she laced up her skates and did her warm up laps fast. Then she put the music on, and began the routine.

For Derek, watching meg skate was always shard to do. No matter what the routine or costume or music, he was always transported back to when she was first learning to skate. How little she'd been, and how wonderful of a child she had evolved from. She flowed on the ice, the music to can-can unbelievably fast, and her routine just as difficult. When she finished in her sit spin to layback spin, she paused, then skated over to him.

"Well?"

"Unbelievable. You're amazing."

Meg colored, but smiled at him.

"It needs a lot of work, but it's getting there. Nationals aren't for another three months."

"You're going to be busy this year, huh."

"With the games in march, I'm going to be crazy busy. Even if I don't place in the top three at Nationals, or win the world championships, my chances to be an alternate are pretty high."

"You'll take nationals."

She smiled.

"Maybe. Hopefully. But everything could go wrong. I'm better at the competition thing now. Pavel had me in every European competition and meet last year. And I did well. So now I'm comfortable with the whole thing."

"Good. Where are nationals?"

" Concord. It's a good rink. I'm excited."

"That's fantastic, honey. All of it."

"Yeah…Catalina's looking good these days…but anyway."

"Where's Pavel?"

"He doesn't work with me on Fridays. I mostly just do the repeats."

Derek sighed, and leaned forward against the rink barrier.

You did a lot of competitions that I wasn't there for. But I'm going to be there from now on. Every single one. I'll do it. I mean it."

"It means a lot that you care. That's all that matters."

They smiled, but there was something else in his eye that made her cock her head to the side and look at him questioningly.

"You've really grown up, Meg."

"I have, dad. I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm a woman now."

The sentence was symbolic to him, but Meg was desperate to make him see. That afternoon had made so much progress, she was bursting to tell him her secret. She'd realized that she didn't just want the truth out anymore. She wanted him to share in on her excitement and happiness. To really live life with her, and embrace everything she was going through.

"As much as it breaks my heart, yeah. You are."

"I'll always be here. It doesn't have to change completely… but you should get back to the hospital. And let me practice, or I'll never win anything."

"You're right. I'll call you later, kiddo."

He kissed her forehead and cheek, and left her to skate with a lighter heart than she'd had in all the time she'd been in Seattle. She could feel it inside; things were looking up.

-------

Derek walked into the on-call room to find Meredith sitting on the bed against the wall. She was dressed in her blue scrubs and had toed off her sneakers to reveal pink tipped socks. He walked up and lightly squeezed her big toe before leaning in for a kiss.

"Hey you."

"Hey. How'd it go?"

Shaking his head, he hopped up next to her and she leaned into his shoulder a bit.

"It was amazing. Really...I think we're going to be great."

"That's fantastic."

"What are you planning for this evening? They scheduled me-"

"I know, I saw the board. We're just going to hang out at Joe's. The whole crew."

"Sounds like fun. Just don't have too much of it."

Meredith rolled her eyes, and they both laughed.

"Izzy and Alex are in some weird sort of limbo."

"Yeah?"

"I think she's moving on. It's only been a couple months, but I think she knows she needs to move on."

"Good. She deserves to be happy."

"All five of us are now officially paired off. George and Callie are getting pretty serious."

"She's still kind of scary though."

"I know, right?"

Again, they giggled like two year olds, and Derek pulled out his sidekick.

"How about you and I go out to dinner tomorrow night. Just the two of us."

"We have alone time all the time."

"I want to take you somewhere nice."

She smiled, and leaned in to kiss him.

"Alright. Tomorrow night."

"Great."

His pager went off, and he regretfully kissed her again before getting off the bed.

"I'll see you at home, then."

"Alright. Bye."

He left her there, and she went back to trying to take a breather in the middle of a very long working day. In less than a minute, however, her own pager went off, and she regretfully left the bed, and put her shoes back on.

---------

Okay. The next chapter is it. The big one…

Please review!


	16. And So It Begins

That night, the interns at Seattle Grace settled in for some quality time at Joe's. Meredith, Izzy and Andy were giggling over their newly invented "throw a peanut in the cup" game, and Alex and Cristina were involved in a serious drinking game. Having only been there half an hour, and been conversing most of the time, nobody was even on their way to being seriously drunk.

At seven-fifteen, the door opened and Derek walked in, wearing jeans and a 'lucky red' pullover. He walked over to Meredith and surprised her by attacking her neck.

"Derek!"

"What? Not happy to see me?"

"What happened to your surgery?"

"Mrs. Klaus is running a fever and we had to postpone till tomorrow morning."

Burke returned from the bathroom and smiled. The weeks since his accident had caused a re-evaluation of his relationship with Cristina. Though neither talked about it, there was a definite change. She was a softer person around him, and he had become a much more 'human' person. He seemed to be living life to the fullest.

"Dr. Shepherd."

"Dr. Burke."

They shook hands, and their mock game of "Dr. One-up" caused Meredith and Cristina to roll their eyes.

"Can I interest you in a game of darts?"

"I believe so. Please, lead the way!"

They walked to the far corner of the bar to play a game of darts and catch up. Derek had been contemplating buying a boat, and the two of them felt it necessary to consult the issue on a semi-daily basis."

"Okay. So when I was sixteen, I snuck out of the house to go to this 'like, end of the year raging party' with my badass senior boyfriend. And I get pretty wasted- I wasn't a seasoned drinker then, and we were dancing on his dining room table-"

"Let me guess. You fell off."

Meredith laughed.

"I wish. No. I hit my head on the chandelier."

"Oh Jesus, Meredith."

Cristina snorted and went back to her drinking game with Alex. Izzy continued to look at Meredith and prompted her to continue.

"So then what?"

"I was bleeding pretty bad, and it knocked me out for a minute or two. So, my wonderful, caring boyfriend takes me o the hospital. Where my mother is the on-call attending."

"Good one."

"She was so angry. I was still drunk when we got there. And for the next few hours."

Izzy laughed at Meredith's face.

"What were you, grounded for the summer?"

"Worse. She took me to the hair salon the next day and had me stripped of all my punk black and blue out-of-the-box dye, and had my head dyed back to blonde. Then she grounded me."

"That's the worst? Andy, tell me you've got better."

"Naw, man. I didn't do anything in high school. No time, really."

Izzy groaned.

"You have to have something in that past that's a little bit sordid."

"I did plenty of stupid shit at Brookings. None of it very amusing right now."

"_Andy_…"

He laughed and sipped at the beer.

"I'm not a very interesting guy, Iz. The worst I did?...Okay. The chancellor of Brookings lives on Azalai Island, which is right in the middle of the Brookings Lake. Has this huge mansion, and it's own harbor, and really extensive grounds. It's just this longstanding tradition. And every morning, he has to be trafficked by boat to and from the mainland."

"Oh you didn't."

"Oh but we did. Took all the boats out of the Bookings Harbor, _and _Azalai harbor, and hid them in the fifth marina over. A couple miles down the shoreline. So he had to be rowed into school by the crew team. While most of the student body stood and watched."

"You're pathetic."

"I'm aware…we redid the President's house one time."

"His house?"

Andy laughed, remembering the instance.

"He lives on the campus. The president is kind of like the overseer, and the chancellor is more like the king. But the President's house was this gorgeous white mansion, with the front pillars and all. My frat got a bunch of silk sheets, I mean, just massive ones, in red and black and yellow, which were our colors, and managed to drape it all over the house. They couldn't get out for most of the morning. That was pretty amusing."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. We were going to paint it, but we didn't want to be snots on top of troublemakers. My image couldn't take it."

He clinked his beer bottle with Izzy and had some.

"So. George. My man. What's new with you?"

"You know. Same old. I didn't kill anyone today. Always a plus."

"Always a plus indeed."

They continued to chat happily, still drinking lightly. Ten minutes later, the door opened again, and Meg walked in. since she had heard from her father's own mouth that he had surgery, she thought she might surprise Andy.

-----

Meg was wearing her favorite jeans, and a red deep cut halter top. She'd thrown the long brown locks into a pony tail and slide into some black boots. Seeing Andy at the bar, she walked over and wrapped her hands around him from behind.

"Hey, Baby."

He almost jumped, but turned the stool slightly so he could wrap an arm around her waist.

"Mags. Sweetie, what are you doing here?"

She shrugged, still oblivious to the edge in his voice.

"I got done early at work. So I went to the gym and decided to come see you."

"Fantastic. Andy was just telling us Brookings stories."

She raised an eyebrow to him, then grinned at Meredith.

"Oh Yeah? Which ones?"

"Just one, really. The one about the chancellor being stranded."

Meg's eyes sparkled as Meredith spoke.

"Of course. The whole team became legendary figures. This one was big man on campus for months."

Unbeknownst to any of them, Derek had turned from the dartboard, and happened to glance at meg. Abandoning the game, he walked over confused, just in time to hear Izzy.

"Sit down and have some fun with us. Joe! A beer for my good friend Maggie."

"That's alright, Joe. I don't believe she's old enough yet."

Everyone turned to look at Derek, who was staring very intently at Meg. All her color drained, and Andy tightened his grip on her waist as he realized what had finally happened. Meredith just smiled and took hold of Derek's hand.

"I know. They're babies. You haven't' met Andy's girlfriend, though. This is Maggie. Maggie…"

She trailed off to look at Meg questionably, realizing that she didn't know her last name. Eyes still locked with Derek's, Meg's lips set grimly together, trying to prepare herself for what was about to occur.

"Shepherd. Her name is Maggie shepherd."

Meredith felt all the air drain out of her chest with a 'woosh'. Swallowing deeply, she looked at Meg in complete confusion and dread. The feeling was eerily familiar. Taking a few deep breaths, she tried again to speak.

"Shepherd?"

"Yes. Shepherd. Meredith, I'd like you to meet my daughter. _Margaret Shepherd_.

Derek spat the words out, and the conversation silenced all the interns- even those involved in alcohol sports.

"I don't understand."

"I didn't either, but I'm beginning to. I never told you where Meg, my daughter, went to school, did I? Just a fact I overlooked. She went to Brookings Academy. Where, I'm assuming, she met our good friend Dr. Carmichael. I feel stupid, really. I wondered if you knew her, but I never entertained the thought that my nineteen year old daughter was living with a guy six years her senior."

It was all directed at Andy, who held Derek's accusing gaze.

"Look, Dr. Shepherd-"

"No. no. I don't want to hear anything from _you_ right now," he turned from Andy to Meg; "So you're calling yourself Maggie-"

"-Everyone calls me Maggie-"

"-Parading around and living a lie-"

"I am _not _living a lie. Don't you dare say that to me."

She walked away from Andy to stand up to her father. Meredith, Izzy and Cristina were too shocked to do or say anything about the situation.

"I told you I didn't move here for you. Andy may think that you were part of the decision, and maybe you were, but life is different now. Andy and I have been together for three years. If you had been around like you should have been, you would have met him. But you were too concerned in your own work."

"Don't take that tone with me-"

"I'm nineteen, not nine, Dad."

"You're still too young to be living with someone you're in a relationship with, no matter what his age."

"You can't dictate my life. It isn't your decision to make."

"The hell it isn't. Being nineteen doesn't just hand you the world, Meg. And on top of that, you've been lying to everybody here."

"You're wrong. And if they feel that way, then I'm sorry. But they met Maggie, Andy's girlfriend. Meg Shepherd, the neurosurgeon's daughter isn't who I am. Everything we told them was the truth. Everything."

"It wasn't right."

"No. It wasn't. And it's been killing us, not being absolutely honest. But you didn't get to play the 'get out of jail free' card after what you did."

"He's too old for you. I _work _with him for Christ sakes."

"I love him."

"You're not old enough to know what love is. God damnit, Margaret. I have to see him _every day_. And you…you've…with him…"

"I'm sorry, but-"

"Sorry isn't good enough. You don't erase mistakes with "I'm sorry"."

Her lower lip started to quiver, but she bit on it hard.

"We aren't a mistake. I do love him."

She took shallow breath, trying to get her bearings back.

"But it doesn't matter. You don't get the decision. I'm with Andy. Now, forever, until next week if I want. Nothing you do will change that."

She turned away and walked out of the bar as Andy threw a twenty down and followed her. She was pissed, he was expressionless, and he didn't look at anyone as he left. When they had gone, Derek followed suit, grabbing his keys and turning to Meredith.

"I'm going. You can stay-"

"I'm coming."

Izzy squeezed her hand and George patted her back as she quickly followed Derek outside the bar. She quickly got in, wincing as he slammed the car door and started the engine, pulling out of the parking lot at a ridiculously calm speed. Inside the car, the tension was so thick she thought she might try cutting it, but she was afraid of breaking the silence. He was in full brood mode, but it was coupled with an anger she hadn't seen since their huge fight in the stairwell, just before the prom.

Derek drove them back to his trailer, and cut the engine and lights, leaving it off but not exiting. She sat there with him, as he stared at the nothingness in front of his face. He wasn't looking at the trees, she realized. He was looking at the past. The little girl he had raised into a woman before trouble had struck and he had been rendered incapacitated as a father.

She would have joined him in his thoughts, but he abruptly took the key out of the ignition, and got out of the car, slamming the door on the way up to the trailer, and letting himself angrily into the house. She followed at a much slower pace, wishing with all of her might that she was just a tiny bit…wasted…

----

Meg and Andy arrived at the house and quietly got everything locked up and settled for the night. They said nothing, and spoke of nothing, but long into the night, Andy held her body so that it wouldn't shake quite so hard, and stared up at the moon.

------

Aagh. What do you guys think? Honestly. I'm curious.

Please R&R!


	17. Aftermath

The next morning, Andy went to the hospital with a heavy heart. He checked in with Bailey early and was assigned to do charts pretty much all day. Taking them up to the fifth floor, he found an abandoned corridor he occasionally used, and sat in one of the empty beds that were lined up by the windows. For most of the morning, he filled out charts and made notes, trying to keep himself busy and forget the events of both the previous night and that morning. How Meg, his darling, sunshiny Meg had been silent and removed, practically receding inside of herself to escape her memories. If there was one thing that had been worse than anything else, even worse than her silence, it was the lifelessness in her eyes when they'd made love.

Correction. Had sex.

Because they sure as hell hadn't made love that morning.

Andy had woken to her in his arms, and while she initiated the first few kisses and caresses, she became passive. Meg had lain underneath him, and let him take his fill of her, and while he was sure she had come to climax, he could have sworn that she hadn't felt anything.

Afterwards, she had kissed his cheek and gotten up to shower, while he lay there, trying to absorb what had just happened. They didn't speak until she left the house, and he had pulled her into a passionate kiss at the kitchen doorway. She'd smiled and kissed him back, then left without a backward glance.

Andy had a feeling that if he didn't try hard to do something, then things were going to take a turn for the worse…

--------

Meredith's morning hadn't been much better than Andy's. She and Derek had made ridiculous small talk about nonsensical, unimportant things until they got to the hospital, and he went off to check on one of his patients. She joined Cristina, Alex and George in rounds, but didn't have the balls to ask where Andy was. Cristina and Alex shot her sympathetic looks, and Izzy looked upset herself as they walked through the corridors, but nobody said anything about what had happened the night before. Somehow, the information hadn't made it to the gossip mill of Seattle Grace, so their secret was still a secret, and nobody was staring.

Nobody was talking about what had happened. Everybody was thinking about it, but nobody was saying anything.

She went all morning trying to see patients and make competent decisions, but at ten-thirty, she couldn't stand it anymore. Derek had been mentally absent every time she'd seen him, and she was ready to scream with frustration. Finally, she finished with an extremely needy patient, and set off to the maternity ward without another thought in her head. She didn't stop moving until she was directly in front of that glass and could gaze at the calm babies with a sense of peace. She stood there for a long time, just looking at them, until she felt a presence next to her.

"Cute, aren't they?"

Addsion Montgomery was standing next to her, looking regal and perfect as ever.

"Yeah. They are."

"Want to talk about it?"

Right to the point. As always. But that was Addison. Strangely, Meredith felt that the offer was genuine. She took a long moment before breathing in deeply and spilling it out.

"You've heard of Andy Carmichael's girlfriend? Well, turns out she's actually Derek's daughter."

In spite of herself, Addison's eyebrows shot up, and she actually chocked on a bit of air. If that was possible.

"Meg? _Meg _is Andy's girlfriend."

"Yeah. Yeah. I know. Right?"

The redhead shook her head, and tried to digest the newest piece of information about the newest intern, and her former stepdaughter. It was almost impossible to believe, putting those two together. They were so incredibly different. At least, the Meg that Addison knew, didn't seem to fit with the hip young doctor, but she supposed anything was possible.

"That's…that's hard to believe. Wow. I can't believe she…wow."

"We were friends. I thought she was twenty-four. I mean, she never said she was twenty-four, but…and then last night she came to Joe's. And Derek was there."

"He freaked out, didn't he?"

"Completely. He just lost it…"

"…I'm going to kill Mark."

Meredith looked at Addison in surprise, unsure of what she meant.

"Mark? Why?"

"Mark and Meg have always been thick as thieves. When Derek and I left New York, he kept up that relationship and helped her along."

"Derek said that. I didn't realize that he was seeing her now that they're both here."

"Yeah. And he's known all along, I bet. No wonder he and Andy are all buddy buddy."

"I just…I feel so stupid…I thought…I mean, I love Derek. A lot. I thought we'd get married eventually, maybe, and…then she'd be my step daughter. But I was _friends _with her. And she lied. She knew who I was. And she just continued with the charade. Andy too."

"I know Meg. We never got on perfectly, but I know her…she's not a malicious person. I can't imagine she did this for no reason. It's just not like her. She's a great girl…maybe the one you got to know is the real her."

"You're surprised that she's with Andy."

Addison nodded, trying to voice her thoughts.

"The Meg I knew- the one we all knew…she was focused. Single minded. And she wasn't a child, because she was hardly ever a child, but there was a certain degree of childish innocence. To be with Andy, I just think she'd have to give up a bit of that control. So things must have changed for her. A lot."

"They work so well together. It's like they're an old married couple. I just…how did I not see it? Last night I lay there and I couldn't stop going back. I know she's not Derek's daughter by blood, but there are so many things that they do that are identical. Why didn't I recognize it?"

"She's a smart girl, Meredith. If she didn't want you to find out, for whatever reason, then chances are you weren't going to. She's incredibly brilliant. She graduated with top honors. There was nothing you could have done."

Meredith nodded, but she still looked far away, so Addison put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Have you talked to Andy?"

"No."

"Talk to him. See what happened. I'm sure there's some sort of explanation."

Her pager went off then, and she swore as she turned to Meredith apologetically.

"I have to get this. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

Addison turned to walk away, but Meredith felt herself calling out?

"Addison? Thank you."

The older woman just smiled and went on her way to deliver a set of triplets. Meredith stood looking at the babies for a moment longer, before deciding to take Addison's advice. She went off in search of Andy to demand the truth. Finding him proved to be harder than she thought, and it took nearly half an hour before she discovered him on the fifth floor, completely alone and filling out charts. He looked up at her entrance, his whole demeanor seeming to deflate, and put the chart he was filling out by his side.

"Hi."

"Hey."

She looked down at her shoes, but trudged over to sit on the bed next to him, knees drawn up to her chest.

"Why?"

He was silent for a long moment.

"She was angry when she moved here. Derek had been absent for a long time, completely the past year, and practically never there for the last two. He'd never even heard of me, and she wanted to keep that private. To be honest, you were never part of the plan. You or Izzy or George or Alex. I thought I'd come here and work. Keep to myself, and certainly not be assigned to Bailey's squad of interns, who are so completely embroiled with the lives of attendings, it isn't even funny."

"Okay. I get that. But why keep it a secret."

"Because she didn't want you to see her as his daughter. She wanted you to see her as my partner."

"But you lied. To all of us."

"I know. It's…complicated."

"Un-complicate it."

"I didn't want her stressed. I didn't want her beating her brains out trying to impress you as his daughter, or not feeling accepted…I love her, Mere, but she's one screwed up girl with a boatload of problems. She's an ice skater. So she does things that I, as a doctor, can't stand. It isn't an excuse, but I finally had her where she needed to be, and I wasn't going to make her tell the truth before she was ready, and risk everything going to pieces."

"_What are you talking about_?"

He raked a hand through his hair, belaying his frustration and aggravation.

"When I met Meg, she was thin. Very, very slender, and the epitome of an ice skater. Time went on, and I realized that she was losing weight. Her time in Russia and Switzerland did a number on her, and the competition between the international skaters took on a different edge. They've always been thin, but now they've taken it a step too far. They're anorexic. All of them. The main contenders, anyway."

"Then why isn't anyone saying anything?"

"Because it seems like the thinner they get, the more air they can have on jumps. It's why it's so competitive. Before she lost all her weight, Maggie was getting way up off the ice."

Meredith heard the pain in his voice and felt her anger abate a little. Girls came into the hospital for anorexia; it wasn't something to joke about. Andy looked like he was genuinely concerned with her well being, and that thought scared Meredith a little bit.

"How bad was it?"

"She was about a hundred pounds. Give or take. And most of that was muscle. It just got worse and worse and worse. And then it got to the point where you couldn't tell how much she was losing, but she was. And it was hard to tell sometimes. I mean, they'll wear sweats and layers and there are times when you just can't tell. But they're smart girls. They get their vitamins, they take pills. So they don't look unhealthy. Just super skinny."

"What happened."

"We had it out. Not in so many words, grant you, but she got the message. And the silent agreement was that we would move here and try again. I pretty much just picked the program farthest from the east coast and applied. It just so happened that Derek was here."

"Andy-"

"I'm sorry, Meredith. I'm sorry we lied, and that you had to find out the way you did. We didn't expect to love you guys as much as we did, and it's taken Mags a long time to let go to all the resentment that she felt towards Derek. But I would do anything to make her happy, and to keep her safe."

"How much of it…"

"Everything was real, Mere. All the feelings and the happiness. You want facts? She's contracted by Addias. They're her sponsor. She learned to cook from Gamma. That's Derek's mother. She learned how to play chess from Nonno, Derek's father. Her favorite color is blue and she graduated with a degree in Comparative Literature from Brookings. She speaks English, Russian, and French. She's exactly five foot six. Right now, she's a hundred and ten pounds. Before I met her, she did school and skating. She had a couple best friends, but she didn't have much fun in life. Then she went to a crew match and both of our lives changed."

"He's furious, Andy…I'm hurt- and upset, but he's so angry."

Andrew's jaw tensed, and Meredith put a hand on his arm.

"He loves her-"

"I know that."

"But it might take him some time."

He was silent for a long, long time, during which Meredith just sat there with him, both thinking of their respective others who were so entwined in each other's lives. Andy absently pulled his wallet out and ran his thumb over the picture of Meg he had there, looking seriously at the camera with just a hint of smile.

"I took this last year. She was just…sitting there, watching something on tv…Derek can have his time, but she won't wait forever. I know her-she's ridiculously stubborn. Stupid, even."

"Just like Derek."

"Probably."

"…she's fine- now, I mean. Right?"

"She gained weight. But who knows what's going on in her mind. I hope so."

"She's healthy. That matters."

"Hopefully."

Her pager went off then, and she looked down in exasperation.

"This always happens."

"What a wonderful life, huh."

She smiled at him, and squeezed his hand.

"It might take some time, you know…"

"I understand."

Leaving him on the bed, filling out charts, she went to answer the page for 233, and felt a lot better than she had a half hour before. Meg's battle with weight stuck in her head, however, and she made a mental note to talk to Derek about it later.

She didn't get the chance to say anything to him that day, because she got so busy she wanted to cry, and one of her patients required her attention well after she was supposed to be off. By the time she finally got home, she forgot that everyone had decided to go to Joe's, but was too tired to turn around and go back. The other interns had been somewhat told about why Meg and Andy had perpetrated their façade, and they were feeling the tiniest bit understanding. Izzy was extremely hurt, and George was standoffish about Andy, but Alex didn't seem to care either way, claiming that they were both nice people and everyone deserved a shot. And a second chance. As well as a third…

Letting herself into the house, she slowly crept upstairs, noticing that Derek's jacket was slung over the stair banister. Upstairs, she opened the door to her room, and wasn't at all surprised to see him there, sitting in the armchair by the window. He was staring out at the sky, not moving, and not acknowledging her presence at all. Meredith changed into a t-shirt and shorts, then walked over to the chair, wrapping her arms around him from behind. Derek stayed silent for a minute or two, still looking out the window.

"I always thought that she was just living in the city. Practicing, maybe a friend or two. Roommate…not this. Never this."

Meredith stayed quiet, wanting him to let it all out.

"She's living with him…she's actually living with him. My daughter, my baby girl is…having sex with a man that I have to see every day. Who I have to work with. Talk with. She's just a child."

"She's nineteen, Derek."

"She's too young to be living with someone."

"He loves her."

"How can you know what love is at nineteen? Oh wait, that's right. He's twenty four…She lied to us, Mere."

"I talked to-"

"She and my whole family lied. I called my mother. Everyone know. Everyone. And nobody said anything. How am I supposed to face him?"

For that, Meredith had no answer. Until that point, she hadn't realized how deep Derek's hurt went, but now she saw that it was more than the deception. He'd had to realize that Meg wasn't a child anymore, and the realization had been to startling for him to do it correctly.

"Maybe we could talk to him. Dinner, or something."

"I can't even look at her now. No. I don't want to see her for a while. She lied and she's making huge mistakes. If I could avoid seeing him, believe me, I would."

He put a hand over hers, seemingly unaware that what he'd just said had devastated her. Because Meredith had realized something. Meg was Derek's daughter. And if she married Derek someday, Meg would be her step daughter. And Meredith knew that she wanted that to happen, not only because Derek was her soul mate, but because she loved Meg as well. Maybe she'd subconsciously known it the whole time that she had been getting to know the younger girl, or maybe it had just happened too fast for her to realize.

"Forget her. For now…let me take you to dinner tomorrow night. Somewhere nice. We haven't spent much time together lately."

"Derek-"

"I'll make reservations."

He turned around to kiss her before she could utter another word, and after a few leisurely exchanges of saliva, he smiled and went to the bathroom to shower.

"Damnit."

---

Sorry. Long time no update, huh? I promise to be better.

Pleaseeee review!


	18. Calming

For three days, Meg went through life in a daze. On the first day (after that _real _first day) she didn't go to practice at all. She sat in front of the television, staring listlessly at nothing at all. The whole day went by without her noticing, and when Andy questioned her about it, she only shrugged and warmed up a frozen pizza for dinner.

On the second day, she practiced so hard her feet bled, and she arrived home after Andy had gone to bed. He was so tired he didn't even stir, and she slept until eleven the next day.

The third day was spent obsessively cleaning, but somehow, nothing looked any different. Meg kept a neat house, and staying home to clean didn't make much of a difference.

On the fourth day, however, Andy arrived home to find Mark sitting at the table, and Meg whirling around the kitchen. There were dishes and pans and ingredients on every spare inch of the counter top and island, and his girlfriend looked like a housewife from the sixties. She had her hair in a curly ponytail, and wore a white peasant top with a brown muslin skirt. The pink apron was cut for her body, emphasizing her tiny waist, and somewhat substantial bust area.

"Andy!"

She beamed at him, and Mark shot him an expression that **_clearly_** said "where the hell have you been, and why did you leave me here alone?".

"Hey…"

She offered her cheek, and he went around the table to kiss it, and plant a second on her neck. All over the table, there were beautifully prepared dishes; all kinds of sides and several casseroles. Mashed potatoes, cornbread, marinera bake, steamed asparagus, stuffed mushrooms, and in the oven, was a full _chicken._

"What's going on, sweetie?"

She colored, and gave him her impish grin. It halfway irritated him that she was completely adorable even when she was behaving like a lunatic.

"Well, Mark and I were having tea, and there was just nothing to give him to eat. So we went to the store, and I just felt like cooking a full meal."

"I see that."

"And you're home just in time. The chicken's just being kept warm, but as soon as I finish these vegetables, we can all sit down and eat."

He nodded, but started to back away slowly, astounded by how much food she had made in so short of a time. She and Izzy really were dangerous when it came to emotions and food.

"You know, I'm not really all that hungry, babe, I grabbed some-"

He didn't get to finish because Mark grabbed his wrist and pulled him down to the chair at the table.

"Sit down, Carmichael."

They glared at each other, then went back to watching Meg waltz around the kitchen. When she went downstairs to the extra pantry to retrieve more virgin olive oil, the men immediately turned to each other.

"What the hell? You were supposed to keep her company."

"I didn't think a little cooking could hurt. Obviously, I was wrong."

"Have you talked to Derek?"

Mark nodded, and had some more of the coke that Meg had poured for him. He was dressed in casual jeans and a black t-shirt, looking relaxed and happy.

"I ran into him today."

"And?"

Mark level Andy with a hard look.

"The man's smart enough to put two and two together. Of course he was furious I'm practically wearing "I support Andy and Meg" buttons."

"Damn."

"You're telling me. I had _hoped _that I might be able to stay out of it. Of course that blew away when Addie started in on me the other night. On and on about how much I've helped mess things up for Derek and Meredith, and how I was supposedly supposed to be the figure of authority while everyone was off gallivanting. _Awful_ things happen when women talk."

"Very good."

Meg reappeared, and she smiled at them as she finished up with the meal. By the time all the dishes had been set out, Andy's mouth was watering, and when they all joined hands to give grace, he stroked her knuckles with his thumb. Meg said the prayer, then the individual thanks.

"Lord, we thank you for our good health, for sharing this meal with loved ones and allowing us all to be here. Together. Amen."

Once again, the men shared a look, but Andy squeezed her hand, and kissed her palm.

"This is delicious, baby."

Meg and Andy locked eyes, both thinking of how much they loved each other. They were interrupted by Mark's not so subtle cough, and broke eye contact guiltily, while Meg reached over to lay a hand over Andy's. She did, however, lean over and kiss Mark's cheek.

During the meal, they talked about music and art and politics, everyone trying to avoid the most obvious subjects. She served them liberally with wine, pretty much plying Mark with enough wine to make everyone a little more than 'happy', and around midnight, Mark called Addison to tell her he was just going to sleep in the guest room.

After she'd gotten Mark settled, she slipped into bed with Andy, both of them lying on their sides, facing each other.

"We're going to get through this."

He was surprised she broached it first, and slowly nodded.

"Yeah. We are."

"Dad can accept it, or he can take a hike. You're my life now."

Andy said nothing, but pulled her closer and rolled onto his back. Meg drifted off to sleep, but he lay awake, staring at the ceiling, and thinking how much things had changed in so short of a time. He had a great relationship with his parents. They had loved him and been there for him through everything. When Meg had entered his life, they'd loved her too, after their initial reserves over her age. Now, they loved her as a daughter, and Andy sometimes suspected that they loved her more than they loved him. Sometimes…

---

The next evening, Derek took Meredith out to dinner. He arrived, wearing a nice suit, carrying roses, and kissing her on the cheek. Despite herself, she blushed and felt like a princess. He took her to an extremely fancy restaurant, asked for the best wine, and then sat back to smile at her.

"This is really nice."

"You like it?"

She nodded, and his smile intensified.

"Good. I'm glad."

The waiter returned with the wine, and dutifully poured for both of them, then left them to look over the menus. Meredith couldn't really concentrate because she felt like Derek was undressing her with his eyes, and Derek couldn't stop grinning like an idiot.

"Stop looking at me."

"I like looking at you."

That made her smile even more, and she ducked behind her menu to recover. When the waiter came back, Derek asked for the lasagna, and Meredith ordered the lobster. When he had gone again, she put her hand forward and Derek covered it with his. They were unknowingly re-enacting Meg and Andy's gesture from the evening before.

"I know we said we were going to take this slowly. Explore again."

"Derek-"

"No, no. Let me say this…If you want to continue with that, still be hesitant, I understand that. I do. I'll support it. I'll wait…but I want you to know, out loud, you're it. You're the rest of my life. I love you, more than I've ever loved another woman. You make my head spin and my heart pound, and make everything better. Someday, maybe soon, maybe not, I want to make you my wife. And be the husband that I know I can be- with you."

He was so serious that the whole speech brought tears to her exquisitely made up eyes.

"I love you too. You know that. And I want that- all of it. Soon."

They grasped each others hand, and took a moment to enjoy the feeling. Meredith suddenly aware that her happily ever after was really on the road to reality, and Derek at peace with where the relationship was heading. When their food arrived later, they dug in hungrily, and were amazed with the food. Meredith, however, couldn't nick one little thought from her mind; on their last night at Andy's before the whole fight, Meg had prepared lobsters for everyone, slaving away all day in the kitchen. Even though the restaurant was beautiful, and the ambiance amazing, and the food delicious, it couldn't compare to Meg's cooking.

-------

After dinner, Derek drove her out to the trailer, and she found that the picnic table under one of the trees had been lit up with candles and a bottle of wine.

"You did all of this yourself?"

He looked a bit sheepish, but led her to the bench and sat her down.

"I may have enlisted the help of some interns I know."

Opening the wine, he poured her some, and then went back to the car.

"Stay here."

She rolled her eyes at him, but waited patiently as he returned with a long tube. He undid the top, and pulled out a long rolled up piece of paper, about the size of a poster.

"What's this?"

He spread the paper out on the table, and she saw that it was a set of blue prints. A set of blue prints to a house. A very big house, from the looks of it.

"Derek…"

"I'm building this house. Well, not me. I've hired a company. I don't need the trailer anymore, and I'm pretty much living at the house of Grey and Friends, so I thought maybe I could have this built. And when it's finished, maybe we could move in. Together. You don't have to give an answer now, of course-"

"Yes.'

"Yes?"

"Yes. I'd love to. I meant what I said earlier. I want forever. With you. And going slow has sucked."

He laughed, and rested his forehead against hers, their hands linked. Derek leaned in and stole a kiss, then pulled away and rubbed his nose against hers.

"You wanna look at our house?"

"I would love to look at our house."

They turned to the plans, and he began to show her where everything was.

"So, it's six bedrooms, plus the master bedroom."

"_Six_?"

He grinned.

"I figured we needed one for half of each couple. So there's three. And maybe a couple kids."

He was nuzzling into her neck, and Meredith felt a huge glow inside of her.

"You want more kids?"

"I do…but if you don't want any-"

"I'd love to have your babies."

Meredith absently thought that if Cristina were there she would sucker punch both of them and then throw up. They really were nauseatingly disgusting. Even Izzy would roll her eyes.

"So. Here's the kitchen, just in case either of us ever learns how to cook. And the living room. And the study…"

Derek went on, showing her where each room was, and how the house would be situated. Fifteen minutes later, she found herself lying against him on a blanket, enjoying the wine and looking over the lake. Derek was half sitting, lying back on his elbows, and she lay between his legs, resting her head against his chest.

"So we've made commitments tonight."

"We have."

"Soon we'll be picking out bathroom towels."

She grinned at him, and he bent down to kiss the tip of her nose.

"How soon till they start building?"

"As soon as we want."

Meredith nodded to herself and thought about how much things had changed in the past month. Things had gone downhill with Andy and Meg, but her relationship with Derek had blossomed overnight. Literally. They had promises. Together. Throwing words like 'forever' around wasn't something to talk lightly about, and she was starting to believe that all her dreams could really come true.

----

The next day, however, she was starting to have doubts. She found herself, once again, at the nursery, staring at the newborns. So it was no surprise to her when Addison walked over and leaned against the glass. The older woman looked better than she had in months. She had always been beautiful, but ever since her divorce from Derek, she glowed with a vitality that Meredith had never seen. The young Dr. Grey attributed it to the rumors that she was taken up with the new head of plastics.

"Funny. I had thought that after I gave you expert advice, you would follow it, and no longer be harassing my patients."

Meredith smiled slightly, and cooed at one of the little girls.

"I talked to Andy."

"And?"

"And he said that Meg used to have a problem with her weight."

Addison sighed deeply, and put her hands on the railing as well.

"Meg has always been…slender. And she just kept losing weight the older she got. It made us horrible parents. Me more than Derek, because I was at least the mother figure. Even in those last years. But it was hard. Because it isn't just a battle against her. It's her mind and her body and her trainers and the judges and the rest of the world."

"That's what he said."

"He cares about her. A lot."

"Yeah. Have you seen her?"

"No."

Meredith smiled, thinking of all the fun times that the group had shared.

"She's healthy. I would never have guessed she used to have a problem. Andy said she's about a hundred and ten pounds."

Addison's eyebrows shot up and she seemed momentarily shocked.

"A hundred and ten? Wow. That's…a big difference from what she looked. That's great of him."

"Yeah…so I guess Andy and I are fine. But Derek is being…"

"Unreasonable?"

"Yeah. He won't talk about her or Andy or anything relating to the two of them. I know she's his daughter, but still."

The redhead nodded and rolled her eyes.

"Derek has always, always been extremely protective of her. Probably because her birth parents died when she was so young. The thing is, he's never had to deal with meeting a boyfriend. Or a date. Or any person of the male species interested in her romantically.

"Seriously?"

"Completely serious. Maybe that's why he's taking it so hard. It's a shock for him to realize that Meg is actually interested in boys. Throw in her living with one and it gets a little bit ugly."

Meredith sighed again, and turned to Addison warily.

"Okay. So, I have this other problem. But it's kind of…well, it's about Derek. And me. And I heard that you, that you're…"

"That I'm with Mark?"

"Yes. But gossip happens, so-"

"Don't sweat it Grey."

"Well…are you?"

Addison arched one of her perfectly waxed eyebrows, and Meredith squirmed a little bit. Then Addison smiled reassuringly, and Meredith let out the breath she had been holding.

"I'm sorry I wrecked the relationship that you and Derek had. But I just felt that I owed it to myself to see that my marriage was really over. Even though Derek was in love with you, and I was…I was still in love with Mark. I _am _still in love with Mark."

"That's great, Addison."

"Thanks. He gave up…everything in New York. Just on the chance that we might work. And I haven't been happier in a long time…but you were going to tell me about your relationship problems with Derek? Don't worry, Meredith. I've completely moved on. And, oddly enough, we always seemed to get along, didn't we?"

"We did…it's just…after Derek found out about Meg, he just cut her out of conversation completely, and he wanted to take me to this fancy dinner last night. And it was amazing. And we…talked about the future. About forever."

"Forever's a big commitment. That's fantastic."

Meredith nodded again, slowly, and started twisting her hands.

"And he's building our house, and we made all these plans, and I'm so happy about them. It's just…why now? Why is he doing this the moment he and Meg get into this huge fight. We were supposed to be taking things slow. And we kind of were."

"Kind of? I thought Derek had practically moved in."

Meredith went completely red, and put her head down a little bit.

"We, ah. We hadn't…well."

"Seriously? You and Derek actually managed to restrain yourselves."

She wanted to die. A quick, painless death.

"Yeah."

"I'm impressed…so. What's the problem?"

"The timing's off. It's when things went sour with Meg, he wants to move our relationship forward."

"He's angry with her right now. So maybe he feels like he doesn't need the permission that he wanted to get. Or, more than likely, he just wants to put all his energy into making you happy and moving forward because it's something you can control. I know Derek, and I know he wouldn't do all this without feeling for you the way he does. Even if Meg influenced his choice, there's every reason in the world to believe that he's serious about it."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

"I am a wise woman. And on that note, let me offer you another piece of advice. Don't let this thing between Meg and Derek fester. I know you want to give them time, but you don't have that luxury. They're both irritating, stupid, stubborn people who love to hold onto a grudge. Neither of them is going to want to make a move towards the others, but once Meg puts Derek behind her- really puts Derek behind her- then at that point there's nothing you can do."

"I'll talk to Andy."

"Good idea. While you're at it, tell him not to get my boyfriend drunk on a regular basis."

"Mark got toasted with Andy?"

Addison shook her head jokingly.

"I believe he went over for dinner."

Meredith gave her a knowing smile.

"He didn't have a change. Her cooking is absolutely amazing. She said her grandmother taught her everything."

"Then I'm envious. Derek's mother is a fabulous cook."

"She must have been. Meg can whip up a gourmet meal in an hour."

"Wouldn't surprise me. That girl can do anything in the world she sets her mind to."

The began to talk about Addison's newest case, and Meredith felt that she had just truly become friends with Addison. The thought made her smile, and a sense of ease drifted over the two women. Maybe things would look up after all.

---

More coming soon, I promise. Read and Review please!


	19. Mending Past Fences

When Addison let herself into the hotel room that evening, she was surprised to find Mark stretched out on the bed, flipping through tv channels. He was wearing black pants and a blue button down shirt that was unbuttoned to reveal a white undershirt. He had one arm bent and propped under his head, and was using the other one to navigate the remote.

"Hey."

He barely acknowledged her greeting, but continued to change channels, not really paying attention to anything. Addison took out blue Capri sweats and a white tank top, changing at her vanity then sitting on the edge of the bed.

"How was your day?"

Mark shrugged and continued to switch channels. Addison just crawled onto the bed further and grabbed the remote from his hand, putting the tv off.

"Um. _Hey._"

He turned to look at her incredulously, and she just raised her eyebrow.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

He sat up and went over to the window to look out at the Seattle skyline. The suite was tasteful opulence, filled with every amenity and luxury, and probably bigger than the two of them really needed.

"You're being evasive. I thought we said we were going to be honest."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Addison snorted and went over to the mini bar where she extracted a bottle of water and proceeded to drink as much of it as she could. Mark just stared out the window, losing his gaze somewhere over the water front.

"Mark…"

He sighed deeply and continued to look out the window.

"He's being an ass. He's being an ass and he's putting himself in a ridiculous situation."

"Of course Derek's pissed. Don't you think he has a right to be angry? His daughter- his only, baby daughter moves across the country and lies to him for two months, then he fids out she's living with a man who's six years old than her who he has to see every day?"

Mark just shook his head and put a hand on the windowsill.

"He loves her, Addison."

"I'm sure he does, but you have to admit, Mark, the girl's barely nineteen. She hasn't had a boyfriend, _ever, _and Derek is supposed to just accept it? Mark, he couldn't accept it when Daphne moved in with Tom. And she's only a year younger than him."

"Daph ended up marrying him…"

"Then maybe Daph got lucky."

"Meg is going to marry Andy."

Addison sighed again, and sank backwards onto the bed, stretching herself out. Mark just shook his head at the window, and went to sit next to her before lying down again. He crossed his arms behind his head, and looked at the ceiling.

"I know you've had your differences with Meg. I know she made things difficult between you and Derek-"

"That's not the point Mark-"

"Then here's the point. You love her. I love her, Derek loves her, and Andy loves her. And if all of you don't understand that, then you're going to lose her. And I mean that. He isn't just her boyfriend, Addie. He's her husband. Her lover. He's the rest of her life."

Addison smiled and rolled over to put a hand on his chest.

"That was poetic."

"What can I say? Practice makes perfect."

Kissing his neck, she laid her head on his chest and laced her fingers with his.

"Derek and Meredith are moving in together. They're building a house."

"Huh."

She took a deep breath, watching the rise and fall of their hands on his waist as they breathed in and out.

"I was thinking…I mean, I was thinking earlier…but we can't live in this hotel room forever…and…and there are some nice places out by Hawthorne…"

"You wanna look at houses?"

"If…I mean, if that's okay, if you want-"

"A house would be nice. There are some nice houses in Hawthorne."

She looked up at him in surprise.

"You've been there?"

"Meg lives out there…think you could stand living out there with her?"

Addison was silent for a long moment.

"I think that Meg and I will be fine. No, really. I think we'll get along perfectly because Derek and I are over."

"I think you're right. You'll like the new Meg."

"Yeah?"

Mark nodded and pulled her just a little bit tighter to his body.

"She grew up, Addie. You should see her. I mean, not now. Now she's just crazy. But this last year- since she arrived in Seattle? She's a woman now. Fabulous cook, she's healthy, she's absolutely beautiful. And she loves him like few people can love."

"I do want to see her."

Mark gave a small smile.

"Good. Because we're invited to dinner on Saturday night."

---------

"Derek, you have to do _something_."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"_Derek _you have to talk to her."

"I am not going to go crawling back to my daughter, Meredith. She lied, for months, and is living with a man twice her age."

"Six years, Derek. He's only five or six years older than her."

"That's six years too old for her to be living with."

"How old are you, Derek?"

They were circling around the living room, arguing over Meg and Andy. Derek had been drinking his morning coffee after his run, and Meredith had been waiting with biscuits (provided by Izzy) along with cupcakes (again provided by Izzy) in a chocolate syrup (once again, Izzy). So, she had stood and waited for him to pour a cup, have a biscuit, then began talking to him about Meg.

"What?"

"How old are you? Because I'm willing to bet that you're a hell of a lot older than me than by six years."

"That is _**completely **_not the point."

"Derek-"

"Do you know what you're asking?"

"Of course I know what I'm asking. I'm asking you to forgive your daughter. To accept that she has grown up and try and act like a grown up yourself, rather than a petulant child. Because you're being a hypocrite."

"_I'm _being a hypocrite? _I am being a hypocrite?. _I think that title belongs to my baby girl, don't you? I mean, after all, she's the one who's been keeping the biggest secret of all."

"You have to let go of it."

"I will hold on to this, for as long as I want."

"Good. You do that. Push her away, and see what happens."

"I will."

"Fine."

"Fine."

He stormed upstairs, leaving her alone in the living room; dejected and pissed off.

"That went well."

------

On Saturday evening, Mark and Addison stood on the doorstep of the Carmichael-Shepherd residence, holding flowers and a bottle of wine. Respectively. Mark was only wearing black slacks and a grey pullover, but Addison was decked out in a deep green halter top and a black skirt that hit her just at the knee. Her heels were gold, as was her jewelry, and she wore a patent smile that she was trying to keep genuine, and not nervous.

"You're nervous."

"I am not nervous."

"You're nervous."

"I have known Margaret since she was a toddler. I dressed her up, put her in her first training bra, walked her through instructions on her first period, and replaced Arnie the goldfish in the middle of the night when he died when Meg was seven. I am _not _nervous."

"Right…well. It's good that you're not nervous then. You should be prepared, because….well, Meg's nuts. Right now. As in insane. So…don't get upset if she's, you know…a lunatic."

"Right."

Suddenly, the door flung open, and Meg appeared. She was dressed out in an ice blue halter dress, with triangles over the boobs that went to a modest 'v', and nipped in at the waist. She wore dark blue heels and had her hair straightened with a blue ribbon tied in a headband. Her make up was, as usual, done beautifully, and she greeted them with the largest smile that Addison had ever seen on her former step-daughter.

"Mark, Addison! You're here!"

She immediately embraced Mark, then wrapped her arms around Addison and kissed her cheek with enthusiasm.

"Come in, Come in."

Meg ushered them in, missing the look that Addison shot Mark, and his return that stated "told you so".

"Andy's just in the kitchen."

They followed her through the hall, and Addison noted all the pictures of the past that were on the walls. There was a three photo frame that featured Meg on her sixth birthday, the first one in front of her cake, with a grin that displayed the place where she'd been hit by a baseball, and knocked out a tooth. Addison and Derek were on either side of her smiling at the camera, thrilled with their daughter's birthday. Directly under it was a picture taken on the same day, with Mark holding Meg while he laughed with Derek over something. The third one showed Meg sitting on Addison's lap, sleeping while Addison gazed at her lovingly.

In the kitchen, they were greeted with the sight of Andy stirring something in a pan, wearing attire almost identical to Mark's, the only difference being a red pullover, and his rectangle glasses. He was adding red wine to the sauce he was stirring, but he turned to smile at them, and accept the light brush that Meg laid over his shoulder.

"Hey guys!"

He turned the stove off and flipped the towel he was using over his shoulder. Gesturing to Meg for the garlic sprinkles, which she handed him, he ground them three times over the sauce and let it stand to cool, before walking over to the couple.

"Mark. Dr. Mongomery."

"Please, it's Addison."

He kissed her cheek and shook with Mark, then ushered them onto the patio for a glass of the wine that Meg was already opening. Addison watched the two of them in action, and was a little bit awed. Mark had been right. They worked like a real couple should. On the patio, Addison took a breath over the beautiful back yard- both the pool and the magnolia tree, as well as the flower beds that Meg had planted.

"Please. Sit down."

Andy served the wine, and then went back inside to attend to sauce.

"So. What are we having for dinner? Everything smells heavenly?"

"Oh nothing fancy. Just some baked stuffed chicken, and a few side dishes. Andy's just finishing up the pasta sauce."

"Well, it smells delicious."

"Thank you."

Mark had some wine, and looked at the yard, where A tire swing had sprung up under the heavy oak at the very edge of the property.

"What's that?"

Meg laughed, and the sound seemed so natural and comfortable to Addison, that she almost felt tears come to her eyes. It was wonderful to see the younger girl so happy, after so much time of uncertainty and awkwardness.

"Andy tied up that ridiculous swing. He _claims _it's for me because I'm such a child, but don't let it fool you. He uses it more than I do. He's been fantastic about getting things going in the yard. I think we're going to do a vegetable patch and extend the deck a little bit next year."

Addison raised an eyebrow.

"Next year?"

Mark had told her that Andy was still deciding whether or not he was going to stay at Seattle Grace. Apparently, the younger doctor was so adamant about finding somewhere that the two of them could settle down and be happy, that he was risking his medical career over it.

"Andy and I finally decided to put down permanent roots. At least, semi permanent roots. We bought the house from Brookings."

"Congratulations, guys."

They beamed at Mark, and Addison found her own voice.

"That's fantastic."

"So do you guys want to eat out here, or inside."

"Let's eat inside."

They all went in, and Meg set the candles around the table, setting out everything. The men went into the living room, and Addison followed Meg into the kitchen.

"Can I help with anything."

"Oh, no. It's alright."

Meg caught Addison's minute fallen gaze, and put her hand on the redhead's arm.

" Addison, you're my guest, and I'm certainly not about to let you lift one finger to help. But you can light the candles if you want."

They shared a smile, and Addison went to the table to do just that. When everything was set out, the men returned and they all set down to eat. Andy said the short prayer, and they began to dig in.

"Meg, this is amazing."

"You think? You've had Gamma's cooking, how does it compare."

"Gamma would be proud. I can't even tell the difference. You certainly got her gift."

Covertly on the table, Andy put his hand over Meg's, and they turned their heads towards each other; Meg offering a small smile and Andy giving her a reassuring look. Mark caught the gesture, and leaned over to kiss Addison's cheek.

"So. Meg. Tell me about the ice skating."

"Well. In three months I have nationals. Depending on how that goes, I'll have the world championships two weeks after that, and then, if I'm lucky, the Olympics in March."

"Meg, you've been working for this your whole life. Of course you're going to the Olympics."

"Thanks. Addison."

"What are you skating to?"

"My short is the Can-Can, and my long program is Nessun Duerma. And believe it or not, the long is actually better at this point. I'm taking the can-can as fast as I can possibly go, so we'll see."

They began to talk of ice skating and all the latest news, and Addison appreciated just how much she had missed being in Meg's life. For years she had gone to the competitions, helped her dress, laced up her skates, taught her how to apply make up. Ice competitions had been every weekend for years, and Addison had enjoyed herself thoroughly. Looking at the woman across the table from her, it was hard to acknowledge that she had once been a young child.

"So. Mark said you've taken the season off competition?"

"Yep. I'm in intensive training."

"So what schedule does Pavel have you on?"

"Well, I'm actually doing personal now. I train every day, pretty much when I want to. And Pavel can be there or he doesn't have to. We have certain times in a week when we're both there to critique, and Scarlet flies down whenever she feels the need. For a while I was with Pavel every day, all the time but we've moved on now."

"That's a big jump, isn't it? Most of the girls who do the personal training are post Olympic placers, aren't they?"

Meg nodded and accepted the glass of wine that Andy had re-poured for her.

"It's early for me. But we've talked a lot about it- the trainers and Pavel, and it's pretty much the best option."

At that statement, Andy shot Mark a significant look, and they both grimaced. While all of her coaches had consulted and talked about it, the real reason for Meg's switch to a more personal training routine was Andy. He had insisted she adopt a new training schedule, preferably one with less interaction with multiple coaches. At least, the coaches that weren't interested in her personally. After much arguing and bickering, Meg had agreed to keep things simple, and she mostly trained alone, with Pavel supervising. It had been an uphill battle, but Andy had been adamant about getting Meg healthy. Putting weight back on her body and keeping her well.

"That's great. Are you excited about nationals?"

"I am, actually. I've got a couple months, but I'm ready to compete again."

The rest of dinner went well, and the conversation stayed light and hearty. Afterwards, Meg and Addison went out to sit on the patio while Andy and Mark gravitated to the basement for a game of pool. Meg poured them some wine, and they sat in the beautiful evening air.

"You've got a beautiful house."

"Thank you. The painters are coming next week and we'll try to make it look like a home. It's so stark. I need more stuff, I think."

She paused again, and looked sideways at Addison, who looked completely content.

"I want to apologize to you."

"For what?"

"For being such an awful step child. I know that you and Dad-"

"I want to make sure you know something too. You had absolutely nothing to do with our marriage. You didn't cause the end of it, and I don't want you thinking that you did. Derek and I weren't meant for forever. And you weren't an awful child at all. Our problems started when you were a teenage girl- big surprise. Teenage girls have problems. But I wouldn't have traded any of it. I only hope that we can be friends now."

"I'd love that."

And, because it was the 'moment', and they were both sort of sniffling, they reached over and hugged.

"You've really grown up. And you've found a great guy."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, Meg. I do."

Pulling away, they smiled and went back to the wine.

"So. On a completely unrelated subject, Mark mentioned that there were a few houses up for sale around here. Would you mind a whole lot if we started looking at them?"

"Of course not! There are some beautiful ones. Two of them are just a few streets over. We can walk by them. Come on."

They rose and wrote a note to the boys, telling them that they were going for a stroll. Then they went on the sidewalk, and began to walk down Iridescent Lane. A couple streets over, they passed one of the houses, and decided to go one more further to look at the second one. When Addison saw it, she knew that it was perfect, and the women took down the number that the For Sale sign had under it.

As they walked back to Iridescent Lane, Addison thought that she just might get her own happy ending after all.

-----

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	20. Dinner Con Mi Familia

The next few weeks were hard on everyone. Meg continued to bake as if the world was going to end, Derek refused to talk to Meredith about Meg, and Andy found himself trying to cope with Meg's new 'nesting' phase. They hired painters to practically re-do the house, and bought a multitude of furniture to actually make the house livable. Before, they had mostly been existing in the living room, bedroom, and kitchen, and going out to hang, because none of the rest of the house was done. They replaced almost all the furniture and Meg seemed to finally be happy with the house. When some paintings arrived unexpectedly from a friend of theirs, they hung them up, and Meg asked the rest of her art friends to send more pictures to hang on the wall.

Derek and Meredith would have been perfect except for the issue of Meg. Though they were essentially in a courtship, Meredith could never help forget about Meg, and she suspected that it was also on Derek's mind as well. He was still not talking to Mark, though she occasionally saw him talking to Addison. Meredith and Addison had lunched together several times, and both agreed not to push Derek into a corner, afraid of how he might react. Instead, they decided to bide their time until everyone could be happy again.

Mark and Addison had looked at other houses, besides the ones in Hawthorne, but the moment that she saw the house on Robinhood Lane, (just two streets down from Meg), Addison fell in love. They immediately made a bid, and bought the house from an elderly couple who intended to travel during their retirement. They were just waiting to move in, and Addison discussed the plans for the house with Meg and Meredith, respectively.

While everyone else was privately dealing with the problem of Meg vs. Derek, Meg was having a hard time with a completely non-related issue. Hiding out in Seattle had been great at first, but now things were getting a bit dicey. Just a week after the first dinner with Mark and Addison, Meg met with Scarlett for a training session and was pleased with the older woman's assessment of her improvement.

"The can-can is getting better. A lot better. A little more technique, but then you're just on improving the speed."

"I know. It's getting there. But still. The long's better."

"Surprisingly, yes. Congratulations. You always were a conundrum."

They enjoyed the laugh, and Meg enjoyed the water break, but Scarlett turned to her with worry written all over her face.

"What?"

"You've got to go to Russia, Mags."

Meg looked at Scarlett for a long moment, then shook her head and had some more water.

"No."

"Meg-"

"No. I'm not going back there. Not now."

Scarlett sighed, and tried to get Meg to look at her.

"I don't want to send you in anymore than you want to go, but they're pretty much going to hold workshop. All of the major skaters are going, and you need the critical eyes. I can't catch everything, and if everyone's going, then you've got to go."

"I hate workshop."

"Of course you do. We all do. But it'll help. It'll help a lot once you get the can-can speed up. Ana is the best."

Ana Kyvratenoloskiwas a Czech born skater who had to be (in Meg's estimation) at least a hundred. She had won every competition possible, including the Olympics, and served as an open trainer, especially in workshops.

"Ana's a bitch."

"She is. We've all gone through her."

"I don't want to go."

"I know. It isn't for another month or so. Three weeks of intensive training and then you've got another month before nationals."

"I'll think about it."

"Do that. In the mean time, try the second-string footwork for the can-can. The six measures."

------

Andy was sitting in the gallery, watching Derek perform surgery on a ruptured aneurism. It was the closest he had been to actually being in surgery with the older doctor, because somehow Bailey had known not to assign him to Derek's patients. So, he had been assigned to Burke, Callie, or Bailey herself. He found himself with a free couple hours, and had gone to see the ruptured aneurism procedure, which he had desperately wanted to scrub in on.

"Hey."

He looked up as Meredith walked in, and she smiled and sat next to him.

"Hey."

"You sound tired."

He shrugged, and continued to half heartedly look at the surgery. Derek knew he was sitting there, and he had pointedly not looked up since the surgery started. Since Andy was the only one on call, the gallery was empty.

"I _am_ tired."

Meredith leaned over to get a better view of Derek, then smiled and sat back again.

"He's a good surgeon."

"He is."

"One of the best. But he's still just a stubborn, arrogant jerk sometimes."

Andy gave a wry laugh and looked back at the ceiling. Meredith looked at him sadly, and put a hand on his knee.

"How's Meg?"

Shaking his head, he gave another short laugh, and bent over to rest his elbows on his knees and cradle his head in his hands.

"She's fine…she's fine. I mean, she cooks non stop. All the time. I had to drop of three boxes worth of food at the homeless shelter this week. And she's exorcising like crazy. Decorating the house. Had it painted while we stayed at the Four Seasons. She has this intense urge to finish the house."

"Andy."

She started to rub his back in small circles, and felt an overwhelming urge of sadness for him.

"I don't know what to do. I can't bring her out of it, and it's just getting worse because she's under pressure for the skating. Mark and Addison have been over a couple times, but I just don't know what to do to help her. She's in her funk…I can't help her, Mere."

"Derek's going to forgive her. He's just an ass and needs a little bit of time."

Andy turned to look straight at her, and Meredith felt her heart plummet.

"I don't know that he has time. They're ridiculously alike, and…I just get the feeling that she's getting angrier the more time goes on. I don't know. Besides. She might be going to Russia."

"Russia? Why?"

"For a workshop. They get all these skaters and they work on their routines with some older skaters who are now coaches. It's hard. Three weeks."

"Is she going to go?"

"Honestly? Yeah. I think she is. I don't want her to go. It isn't healthy for her. But at the same time, she can't stay here. She needs the training…we still have three weeks to decide."

His pager went off and he checked it, then shrugged and kissed Meredith on the cheek.

"I'll see you later."

Meredith watched him leave the gallery, then looked back down at Derek finishing up the surgery. Something had to be done. Something had to be done soon. She quickly ran after Andy, making plans in her head.

----

That evening, when Derek returned to the house, he was assaulted with the tangy smell of Izzy's marinera sauce. Shortly thereafter, he took in the aroma of garlic bread, and he followed the smells to the kitchen, where Izzy and Meredith were cooking. It took him a minute to realize that Meredith was actually engaged in the cooking process, wearing an apron, and grating cheese.

"Derek."

He smiled at both of them, and tiredly put down his briefcase.

"Hey. That smells good."

"Fantastic."

Izzy gave him one of her winning smiles, and grabbed her keys from the table.

"I'm just going to run to the store then."

She left, and Derek shot Meredith a confused look.

"We ran out of garlic. Apparently, we couldn't continue without garlic."

"Ah. So. What are the plans for this weekend."

Meredith smiled, because he had unknowingly walked into the trap that was lying in wait for him. Derek was picking at some cookies that Izzy had baked, and she waited until he had some in his mouth before dropping the bomb.

"We're actually invited out for dinner tomorrow night."

He raised his eyebrows in question and she took a deep breath, knowing the answer was going to start another huge fight.

"Meg and Andy's."

For a moment he froze, then he furiously chewed and swallowed.

"No. We're not."

"Oh. But we are."

"Meredith-"

"Be quiet Derek. You've been blowing smoke for two weeks now. You've been stubborn and arrogant and antagonistic-"

"That's completely-"

"_Shut up_. Meg made a mistake. She didn't tell you she was in a serious relationship. She didn't tell you because she didn't know if she could trust you. And you let her down. But she's willing to forgive you."

"Oh, that's _rich._"

Meredith went on as if she hadn't heard him.

"She is willing to forgive you and move on. And you are going to go to dinner tomorrow. Because if you don't, if you let this opportunity go by, you might not get another one. And she won't tell you when she marries him, or when she goes to the Olympics, or when she does anything involving her life at all. So you're going to dinner. You don't have to talk. You don't have to socialize. You don't even have to smile. But you have to go."

They stood there, Meredith breathing deeply, and Derek radiating anger.

"I'm not going."

--------------

The next evening, all the interns stood outside 16 Iridescent Lane, waiting to ring the bell. Behind the group, Burke was holding a bouquet of flowers, Meredith had a bottle of wine, and next to her, Derek stood with his hands shoved into his pockets. After much grunting and grumbling and outright shoving, Derek had agreed to attend the dinner with everyone else, but he seemed determined not to exude any happiness. At all.

When they'd pulled up she'd noticed his eyebrows raise in surprise and awe at the size of the house, as well as how well kept it was. There were simpler things that Meredith noticed immediately, even from the outside. Where the curtains in all the windows had once been the same white color, there were all kinds of colors and patterns, individual to each room. Derek had exited the car and slammed the door behind him, slowly approaching the front walk to the door.

Meredith was overwhelmingly glad that he had given in, but was also amused with her boyfriend. Seeing Derek actually act like a child was something new, and definitely different. He had moped all day long (when he'd been in the house), and had all but stayed silent when he wasn't complaining about going to dinner. Everyone had dressed in nice casuals, the girls wearing nicely pressed jeans with heels and the guys in whatever took their fancy (other than jeans, because Izzy had gone off on George when he'd tried). Burke was wearing a nice button down, and Derek had put on a black blazer with a green turtle neck underneath.

"Okay. Everyone ready?"

"Just ring the damn bell, Izzy."

Izzy ignored Derek and rang the bell, ready for the evening to get underway. It was a mark of how much a part of the family he was, that they could all quip and snap at each other. He sighed as they waited for someone to answer the door, not knowing who he wanted to see first.

It ended up being Andy, who opened the door with a large smile, and an easy hug and kiss for Izzy.

"Hello! Come in, Come in!"

They all trotted in, Meredith pushing Derek a little behind her so he could sneak in while she hugged Andy.

"Glad you could make it."

"Glad to be here.'

Izzy took a breath at all the changes, in the foyer alone, and looked at Andy in amazement.

"How much did you redo."

"Ah…the whole house."

"You're kidding."

"Not even. Just wait. She's been decorating nonstop for the past three weeks, trying to get it habitable…come on."

They followed him through the hall to the kitchen, where Meg was standing at the island, pouring grated cheese over a steaming casserole dish. She was wearing a purple ¾ length sleeve shirt with a round neck and a black concert skirt that swished around her knees, with black ballet flats. Her hair had been completely straightened, and she had the front locks in the little half poof on top that was all the rage, making it look smart and sexy.

"Hello, Hello!"

She finished with the cheese, and put the dish back in the oven, then went over to the group. Izzy greeted her first, then Meg moved on to the rest of the group. Preston gave her the flowers, and Meredith gave her the wine after she hugged her.

"I'm so glad you could all make it."

Derek wandered across the tile floor into the living room, which was completely open, and sort of joined to the kitchen. He settled into one of the high backed armchairs, and Meredith felt herself deflate a little bit that he wouldn't even greet his daughter. She had promised him he didn't have to do anything, however, so she said nothing and concentrated on Meg. After everyone had been greeted, they stood in a little clump while Meg pulled out a cutting board and some washed strawberries, cutting them in efficiently and methodically.

"Where's the food?"

Izzy lightly elbowed Alex and he just shrugged, well aware that Meg's cooking was second to none.

"I've got most of the dishes in the warming drawers."

She gestured to three large drawers on the island, which were outfitted as heat boxes to keep food warm.

"Meg, you've done such an amazing job on the house."

Izzy was in awe, taking in the living room and all the changes that had been made. The furniture was different, the walls were a light sky blue, and there were all kinds of personal touches, along with art and pictures on the walls.

"Thanks! I just had a nesting phase that I had to get through. I dragged Andy all around town looking for stuff."

Burke was looking at one of the canvases, a huge watercolor of a garden pond, done in a free flowing style that was almost (not quite) abstract.

"This is beautiful. All of the canvases are. Where did you find them?"

"Some were around Seattle. But only a few. Most of them, that one included, are from Brookings."

"All the way from New York?"

Meg nodded went over to stand with him, passing Derek's chair and not acknowledging him at all.

"The art department there is huge. Really. It's massive. And they produce so much art, of all kinds. Most of it goes to archive, and they make scans and put them in an online database, so alums can go online and select what they want. It's pretty much free, because you can enter into agreements with the school to return the work if it's needed, but chances are you won't need to. I ordered all kinds of stuff about two weeks ago, and some of our best friends were art majors, so we had some stuff in the basement we hadn't hung yet."

"That's fantastic."

"Yeah. I'll give you the address if you want, the school is always willing to lend out. It doesn't take much time at all."

"I think I'll take you up on that."

"Sure. I'll e-mail it to you."

"Thank you."

"Not a problem at all. Why don't we take wine out on the deck?"

As they all trotted out, Meredith pulled Derek along with, and they settled into loungers and the umbrella set deck chairs that were scattered along the wooden deck. Meg slid into one as well, and Andy poured a little bit of wine for everyone, giving Meg a glass with only a little bit of wine. At George's inquiring look, Andy just laughed and put his hand on Meg's shoulder.

"She likes to drink while she cooks. I figure we'll go slow this evening."

Meg looked completely mock offended and knocked his hand away.

"I do not _drink. _I have one glass of wine while I cook. And I most certainly do not get drunk."

Andy rolled his eyes and pulled a lock of hair with his finger.

"Ignore her. She's a very amusing drunk. But a lightweight, so she get's knocked pretty easy."

Maggie just shook her head and had some of the wine, but Meredith noticed that Andy quietly (and probably unintentionally) twirled the lock of hair around his finger. It was a subtle act of affection, and she thought that nobody else had noticed. When she glanced at Derek, however, she saw his gaze zeroed in on the two of them, and realized that he had caught the little move as well.

"So. How's the ice skating going?"

Meg had been subjected to ice skating talk at every family dinner or get together for most of her life. It had stopped bothering her a long time ago, but she was a humble person by nature, and didn't like to concentrate solely on herself.

"Oh, it's going. I have a lot of work to do. So we'll see how that goes."

"When are nationals?"

Callie knew a little bit about ice skating, but not much. They were all pretty much clueless, but everyone was hoping that Derek and Meg patched things up so that they could move on together.

"I have nationals in about three months. From there I have the World Championships two weeks later, and depending on the outcome of either competition, then the Olympics in March."

"Wow."

She smiled, a little bit embarrassed.

"It's a daunting prospect. I have to place at least third, or place fourth and have an American win the championship to even qualify for the games. But it would be cool."

"Are you good enough to go?'

Izzy elbowed Alex again, and he looked at her like she was crazy.

"I'm okay."

Andy gave a deep laugh, and went to lean against the railing.

"Ignore her. She was number one in the world last year."

They all looked impressed, but Meg just rolled her eyes again.

"For a total of three weeks."

"Yes. Then she spent almost four months at number two. She placed first or second at ninety-five percent of her tournaments."

Shaking her head, she had a little bit more of the wine then stood up to go attend to the food. Izzy volunteered to help her, and together they moved the food to the dining room. It had been painted a deep wine red with an oil painting of a café in Paris, and on the other wall were prints of wine bottles done in black and white. When they'd set out all the food they went in to call everyone in, and as Andy re-poured the wine, they sat down to a fabulous meal.

Meg had prepared a feast for them all, the main dishes being a four layer lasagna, stuffed mushrooms, and marinated chicken. There were various assortments of side dishes, and everything was mouthwatering. Alex practically licked his lips in appreciation of the smell and look of the food, but restrained himself from attacking the mountain like plates. They all joined hands, used to it from their dinners earlier in the summer, though Derek looked a little surprised when Andy reached over for Meg and bowed his head.

"Bless us oh Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord, amen."

They began to eat, and Derek noticed that Andy prepared Meg's plate for her, handing it to her with a little bit of everything. Throughout the dinner, Derek covertly watched Meg and Andy- how they interacted and responded to each other. He watched Andy re-pour her wine, and put gravy over mashed potatoes, and steal bites of things from her plate, even though he had pretty much the same thing on his own. It was also astounding to him how fabulous the food was. Growing up in his childhood home, he'd grown accustomed to fantastic food every evening, and it seemed that Kathleen had passed her gift to her oldest granddaughter. Eating Meg's food was almost like his mother's, but there were subtle differences. She used more spices, different spices, and the food just tasted like something that Meg would make. She put her personality into each dish, and it impressed him more than he wanted to be impressed.

"So. Which rooms have you redone?"

"We repainted the guest room, music room and the front sunroom. We redid two of the guest rooms, the master bed, the living room, this one, and the front sitting room."

"Unbelievable. How on earth did you do so much in such a short time?"

"We hired a painting company. They were fantastic. Did just about everything in three days."

Cristina looked impressed, since she had liked the new look of the house. And she wasn't the type to read Better Homes and Gardens.

"And then you decorated?"

"I've been perusing stores since we got here, but I hardcore shopped before the painting, and this last week. I knew where it was going to go, so they just delivered it and we had it put there. The living room set I got from a catalogue, and the antique shops downtown are really nice. We also got a bunch of stuff from Pier 1, and…Tuesday morning. So I think we're done for a while. I've just got to do the playroom."

Derek almost choked on his wine, and Burke reached over to deliver a hard 'thump' on his back. Meredith put a hand on his knee and kept her expression neutral.

"Playroom?"

Meg laughed and linked her hand with Andy's.

"I have so many cousins. And they're all younger. And we have several friends with kids."

Andy nodded in agreement.

"I have ten nieces and nephews. We promised that moving here wouldn't isolate us. Meg thought she'd create a room for the kids."

"Smart thinking."

Burke was done enjoying Derek's discomfort, and turned the conversation back to Meg's skating.

"When do you practice? Between decorating and cooking, I'm amazed you find the time."

"I usually get five to eight hours a day of training. Depending on when Andy starts rounds, we try and leave around the same time. If I start at five am, I can mostly be out of the complex by early afternoon."

"Is all that time spent on the ice?"

"No, not at all. If it's a five hour practice or so, I spend most of that on the ice. Or if it's longer, than I have weight training, choreography, muscle exorcises."

Andy put his arm on the back of Meg's chair.

"She also gets two deep tissue massages a week. Mustn't forget about that, darling."

"Oh shut up. He knows very well I have to."

"I suppose it's true."

Izzy smiled.

"I would kill for a massage every now and then."

"I'll give you one Izzy."

Alex leered at her, and Izzy rolled her eyes, while Callie ignored them and looked at Meg in interest.

"Deep tissue? Really?'

Looking a bit embarrassed, Meg nodded.

"I'm awful, I know. My ortho trainer started me on them almost two years ago."

"Are they for relaxation?"

Callie knew that sometimes muscles just needed to be given special attention. Two deep tissue massages a week seemed a little extreme, however.

"Partly. A little bit. They're mostly for the muscles though. I get stiff if I don't go. It's just a good way to manipulate everything. Make sure everything get's attention."

"So you keep an ortho trainer. Does he do everything? Or do you have a team?"

"I have five medical people, but I only see them occasionally. My ortho trainer meets with me once a week; he just flies between Seattle, Denver, Salt Lake and Hartford. A lot of skaters share the top trainers. I have a joint specialist I see in New York- bad right knee, so I see him once every two months or so, unless I have a problem. I have a chiropractor in New York, and an ankle specialist there too; my left is weaker than my right, and I have a spine alignist I see every four months in Zurich."

"That's amazing."

"Callie, I promise they don't follow me around in a team or anything. Mostly it's all for health safety."

"Still. You have the best of the best. That can't come cheep."

Callie was always blunt and to the point. It was something George liked about her. Most of the time.

"It is. Ice skating is an incredibly expensive sport. I was lucky to compete at both levels."

"Meaning?"

Meg sighed inwardly. Now it was getting complicated. Explaining the sport and the inner workings to people took a lot longer than anyone would ever expect.

"Meaning that I'm consistently ranked in the top 25 at any given time, which allows me to qualify for professional events and skate. I can't win the money, or prize or whatever, but it allows me to be sponsored by a non-product company."

George nodded sarcastically.

"Right. I see now."

Laughing, Meg reached up and brushed her expertly styled bangs out of her face.

"Sorry. It's complicated. The rules are strict and small. Basically, amateur skaters can't endorse things- like cereal, or toothpaste or hats, or whatnot. But we can be sponsored by a sports company- Adidas, Nike, TKO, or Puma or any of the ones out there. So my contract with Adidas pays for everything related to ice skating and then some, and I have some modeling contracts on the side."

"You model too?"

Meg smiled at Izzy, knowing the other woman had put herself through med school by modeling.

"Yeah. Mostly just teen brands. Gap, American Eagle and J-Crew. Sometimes I'm on the American Eagle bags. I haven't done a photo shoot in seven months or so. But it takes them forever to release stuff."

"How does that work with the sponsorship stuff?"

"They aren't allowed to single me out. You won't see 'Meg Shepherd for Gap' or anything. I tend to just do the group pictures more, because I don't like pissing of the IFSA."

"IFSA?"

"The International Figure Skating Association. They're like the main governing body. Then you have the AWSL, which is the Amateur Women's Skating League, who deal directly with me and my level of skating. They regulate most of the rules and I have to adhere to the codes."

"Like what?"

"Like no pants. They're debating it now, but I can't wear pants in competition. And they regulate choreography laws."

Meredith raised here eyebrows, surprised.

"That's very complex."

"It is. My lawyer in New York is constantly adhering to updates and contacting the body when a rule applies to my contracts."

"You have your own lawyer?"

Burke sounded impressed.

"I do. I got one just after I turned sixteen. I can't keep track of all the contract allowances and negotiating myself, so he does it for me."

"You sound like a very organized young woman."

Meg beamed at Burke, and squeezed Andy's hand just a little bit tighter as he ran his thumb over her knuckles. She looked so at home, sitting next to him, acting for the entire world like a woman in her late twenties enjoying an evening with her husband and friends. Meredith had a feeling that Derek was thinking the same thing, because she turned her head and smiled at him, and caught the lingering look of sadness in his eyes before it disappeared behind his pupils.

"I'm not _that _organized. But I try. You sort of have to be. Since we've been in Seattle, these past few months, they've been the longest I've been in one place. Traveling, and training."

"How often did you travel?"

"Well, I split the year between Zurich and Moscow and New York. I was in New York about one weekend a month, and I would spend two or three weeks there every couple months. But that's not so bad. I mean, going between three homes on a regular basis just becomes a system. But in Zurich and Moscow, I was competing all over Europe. So I'd have a competition almost every weekend."

"And those would be held in Switzerland and Russia?"

"No, those would be all over Europe."

"Wow. So you've really been all over?"

"Pretty much. I've been to almost every capital or major city in Europe, Tokyo and Beijing."

Meredith finished off her wine and pushed the glass away a little bit.

"What are you going to do after you've finished with skating."

Meg paused, and Meredith saw Andy put a hand to the back of her neck. Almost immediately, she regretted the question.

"…I haven't decided yet…I have my degree from Brookings, so I could go into anything, but…I still have a little bit of time. We'll see. But enough about me, I'm actually quite boring. Should we take a break before desert? Relax a little bit? I think the game's on."

They all stood and exited the dining room to go back to the kitchen/living room, where Andy turned on the TV and speakers to show the basketball game. Meg turned to Izzy, who was practically bursting at the seams, and rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"Tour, then?"

"Yes."

The men settled onto the couch, and Meg showed the women around the house, popping into each room that they'd redone. The music room had been painted a lovely baby blue, but was still being used for storage.

"We'll get it done eventually. I think we've got no energy to shop for a piano."

They went upstairs, and paused at the top of the stairwell, where the wall had been redone and covered with pictures. From the railing you could over look downstairs to the front foyer, and the ceiling had been painted an understated yellow that was calming and soothing. The pictures on the wall were not only of Meg and Andy, but also featured studio shots of family and friends. The largest was a portrait studio photograph of the happy couple, in a regular pose; he was sitting, and Meg was standing behind him with her arms wrapped around his shoulders. There were others, mostly studio shots, of Meg with several of her girlfriends, Andy with his whole family, Meg and her grand parents, Derek and all four sisters, and one picture of Derek, Meg and Addison.

"These are nice."

"Thanks. I've been trying not to go overboard with pictures and art and stuff, but I really wanted to put everything up. And I'm sure this'll expand over the next few years. I miss a lot of our friends. Everyone's all spread out now. We used to be such a group."

They continued through the rooms, looking at the guest bedroom that Meg had decorated, the family room upstairs, and the bathrooms. When they had gone through all the rooms, they stopped outside the master bedroom, and Meg opened the door.

Walking inside, all four women were astounded at the bedroom, which had been completely redone. The walls had been painted a deep forest green, and Meg had put in a new furniture set. Everything was made of a deep cherry oak wood, with four main sections. The bed was where it had always been, against the hallway wall, and was a huge sleigh, four poster bed with intricate carvings. The wall to the left of the bed had Andy's dresser, which was tall with four drawers, and had some of his 'man things' on top. Directly opposite the bed was an enormous dresser, that had six columns of three drawers, and in the very center was a flat screen TV. On the last wall, Meg's vanity was standing, a complete set with the three panel mirror and a little stool to sit at the desk part at.

The most amazing part about the room, however, was the art. There four main pieces, and the women looked at them in awe. Above the bed was a huge canvas of a couple under a magnolia tree, with the angle taken from the sky. It was done in an impressionist style, and there was a thin gold frame around the edges.

On the wall with Andy's dresser was watercolor of Meg, lying on her side and lazily looking at the artist. On either side of the TV were two slightly abstract watercolors that depicted Meg and Andy. The first showed her in front of him with his arms wrapped around her neck, and them looking at each other. The second showed Meg leaning back in his arms, looking in one direction with Andy looking at her face. Both were exquisitely done, and Cristina walked up to them to look closer.

"These are…"

"…unbelievable."

"Seriously."

"My friend Shannon, well, we call her Nan, did that. She's been in New York working on her law degree at Brookings. And the other three were done by Luc, a really good friend of ours. He's in Paris, right now, actually. He's astounding with a brush. He should be coming to stay in a couple of weeks. Hopefully."

"They really are fantastic. You and Izzy should take all your clothes off and be painted together."

"_Cristina_ "

"_What?_ You're eight feet tall, remember?"

Izzy just rolled her eyes and glanced into the bathroom.

"Ohh. You redid in here too."

"Oh yeah. I hated the old colors. I had everything in here done while we were at the hotel because Andy's a complete child about that sort of thing. All the fixtures are the same, I just had the colors and a few of the floor tiles changed."

Izzy, Cristina and Callie were looking at the pictures on the dressers and side tables, making cute comments about the poses.

"Where was this taken?"

Izzy pointed to a picture of Meg and Andy standing on a large deck, their backs to a huge property. Meg was wearing light grey Brookings sweatshirt, and Andy was in a similar sweatshirt, only a dark blue. They were both smiling as he had his arm wrapped around her shoulders and she was hugging his waist with her left arm.

"That was at Gamma and Nonno's cabin in Connecticut. It's like the Shepherd family retreat home. Lots of fun times there. Secluded. Cut off from the world. Completely alone with your family and nature. You'll learn to loooove it."

She directed the last comment to Meredith and smiled at the other pictures around the room.

"We love pictures. Taking and posing. I've got so many in albums. I love to scrapbook."

"You scrapbook? I love scrap booking!"

Cristina looked at Izzy with distaste and pulled Callie over to look at the large oil painting.

"I got into it because it's easy to do on planes. And I spent a lot of time on planes. I have so many frequent flier miles I could probably go to the moon."

"How much did you fly?

"Last year I was going between New York and Zurich and Moscow at least once a month. I'd go between Zurich and Moscow all the time, and then to whichever city was hosting the competition. It amounted to a lot of hours."

As the women gradually wandered out of the room, Meredith and Meg were left alone, standing by the bed.

"It really is beautiful. The whole house, I mean. You did a fabulous job."

"Thanks…and thank you, for doing this. Coming tonight, moving forward. I know how hurt you must be."

"I'm not hurt. Andy explained it, and I understand. I really do. My mom was a surgeon."

"I know, I've read about her. But thanks. For making Dad come. I know he's pretty pissed."

"He'll get over it. He knows Andy loves you. He's starting to see it. Hopefully, he'll get over it sooner, rather than later."

Meg nodded and ran a hand over a non existent wrinkle on the comforter.

"I'm happy it was you, Meredith…I'm so happy for both of you. You guys are perfect for each other."

"That means a lot…and I'm sorry about what I said at dinner. About what you're going to do after skating, I didn't mean-"

"Don't worry about it. There is life after skating, and I don't think about it as much as I should. Because it's the future, and eventually I'll have to something other than ice skating. It's just hard. Because my whole life has been devoted to the sport, and post life seems like an alien world. So please, don't feel weird. I'm a procrastinator."

"I'm just glad we can all move on. Together."

"I am too."

Impulsively, Meg hugged Meredith, and Meredith felt a strange sense of maternal warmth towards the young Miss Shepherd.

"Alright already with the emotions."

Laughing, they drew apart at Cristina's exclamation, and made their way back downstairs. In the kitchen, Meg started to lay out all the deserts, and serve them on plates. There was a three layer chocolate cake with strawberries, a banana foster cheesecake, and quite a bit of fresh fruit to adorn each plate. The women handed the men their desert plates, and then joined them on the couches to watch the game. When it ended, twenty minutes later, they were all ready to go, and Meg had packed up food for them to take home.

"Meg, really, it was a fantastic evening. Thank you for everything."

"My pleasure, Preston. You guys'll have to come again soon."

"If you insist, you have my word."

He and Cristina went off, and the interns plus Callie and Derek were left, holding bags (literally) of food. They were each kissed and bid off, save Derek who went out to the car to wait, and Meredith who lingered to hug Andy and make plans to go running the following morning. Then they were off, and the couple went inside to clean and wash up.

When they arrived back at the house of Grey and Friends, all the couples split up to do their own things. Izzy and Alex sat down to watch tv and knit (Alex watching ESPN and Izzy knitting beside him), George and Callie to play video games in his room, and Meredith and Derek to go to bed. He had to go in to the hospital the next day to check on his post op patients, and she was going to hang out with Andy for most of the morning. They didn't say much, but when they'd brushed and washed and put out all the lights, Derek took Meredith into his arms, and the went to sleep in their regular position.

----

PHEW. Sorry that took sooo long. I'm going to get them out faster. I absolutely promise. But please please please review!!!


	21. Peace

The next morning, Meredith arrived at the Carmichael house at eight-thirty. She was dressed to go running, and Andy answered the door dressed in his running shorts, a t-shirt and sneakers.

"Ready?"

"Yeah. Has Meg gone already?"

"Oh yeah. She was out at six."

"That's dedication."

He nodded, closed the door behind them, and they began to walk to the park. Meredith had put on shorts and a longer t-shirt, and thrown her hair into a haphazard ponytail. Since Andy had moved to town, she'd begun running two to three mornings a week, trying to get back in shape. Derek occasionally went running, but he wasn't really into running with other people. Addison said that it was because he and Mark had run every other day in New York, and it was odd for him to run with anyone else. Since he was still pissed with Mark, it would be a while before they went running together again.

"So. Dinner went well."

"Yeah. I was surprised. Derek didn't kill anyone."

"I think he's warming up to the idea. Really. I mean, we didn't talk last night- at all, really,- but he…he loves her. He wants to see her happy."

"She's going to Russia."

"You talked about it?"

He shrugged and upped the pace a bit as they began to round a curve.

"I want her healthy. I want her to weigh what she should weigh, and be healthy. But I also want her happy. And there are few things that she loves doing more than ice skating…she could win the gold in Torino. It's a very real possibility. She could have it all. And I want it for her, after everything she's done to work towards it, I really want it for her. I do. And going to Russia means that she's one more step closer to the Olympic ice. She's going to go. I know it, she knows it, and she knows that I know it. But she wants all her ducks in a row before she leaves."

"Why? Because she's gone for a month?"

"Because when she leaves she's reverting back to her old ways. She's going to lose weight and be unhealthy and be the epitome of today's ice skating. And she doesn't have the energy to spend on both."

"You really think she'll go back to the way it was?"

"I know my girl. I can hope, but she can't do it. She can't get the air on jumps, or the speed on her sit spin. She's got a bad knee and a weak ankle. She should be as light as she can to avoid any extra pressure on it. It's part of the package. It's why she's such a good skater. She's fearless. She'll take the jump as fast as she can. But she's not fearless with twenty extra pounds."

"So she'll go. How long again?"

"A month. She'll be worked to the bone. Up at five, bed at eleven. Protein shakes and power bars and running and criticizing and general spirit breaking."

"You really think you'll let her go?"

"I can't keep her with me."

It was metaphorical, obviously. They continued to run, and Meredith wondered what the next few years were going to bring. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Andy would be her son-in-law. The thought was almost comical. He was more of a friend, as was Meg. She had certainly had mothering moments the night before, however.

"So Derek and I are getting serious."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I think. He's said stuff."

"Oh delightful. Stuff."

"Forever stuff."

"That's good. Really good."

"Yeah. And you know what? I am not afraid."

"Oh no?"

She shook her head and smiled.

"No."

"You're crazy. I would be."

She rolled her eyes and they upped the pace a little bit more. Sometimes they tended to go for a shorter workout that was more intense, allowing them more time to get on with life. So they continued to run, faster and faster until they were nearly sprinting. Continuing the pace, they rounded the trail three times before sprinting back to the house. Once inside, Andy gave her water, and then poured them orange juice while he made eggs and put the cinnamon rolls Meg had prepared into the oven. She wandered around the kitchen, helping him, and cut the fruit that had been laid out.

"She really is the most amazing cook."

"I need to work out more often. Seriously. This every day for twenty minutes thing isn't cutting it. Meg mostly uses the home gym, I can't stand the treadmill and barbell and that stuff, but now we're getting a little excessive."

"Don't eat as much."

"Yeah. You try that. I mean, half of it is eating to make sure she eats too. But it's just so much food. And obviously she makes low cal everything, but she's just so damn good at it. God knows how all the Shepherd kids aren't huge. Kathleen was great, and she taught Meg everything, but Meg's got something extra. Her own little magic touches."

"Is the family terrifying?"

"They're possessive. Really possessive. They protect their own. But once you're in, you're family."

"So they're terrifying."

"You want me to lie?"

"Do you need to?"

"I don't want to scare you."

"Oh Jesus."

"Doesn't even begin to cover it. Harrison- that's the Grandfather Shepherd- Derek's dad- he's a retired lawyer. Super successful argumentative lawyer. But you wouldn't know it. He values his family and his home and he's great with the kids. Everyone calls him Nonno- to the kids that is. Kathleen is…young at heart. Energetic, always laughing, beautiful. They had and have the life. She's Gamma to the kids, don't ask me why they use those names, I don't know. The Shepherd clan is enormous. Four women. Fourteen grandchildren, and Meg makes fifteen. And most of them aren't done re-producing yet. Each and every one of the Shepherd girls feels the need to be pregnant at some point every two or three years. They could start an army."

She laughed and he looked at her strangely.

"Oh, you think I'm joking? Please. They're bossy, nosy, pushy, and controlling. Every, single, one of them."

"Could you love them any more?"

He smiled, thinking of his newly acquired family.

"I don't think so."

They ended up putting on a movie and settling in to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

----

On the other side of the city, Derek was sitting on the hospital roof, drinking his coffee and looking out over the city. He'd spent much of the morning attending to patients and doing paperwork, giving him ample time to think. The dinner last night had proved to be different than he'd expected. For the first time, he'd seen his daughter entertaining guests in an almost sixties housewife like manner. She'd played the part of the hostess perfectly, keeping everyone supplied with food, wine, and anything else they wanted. The food had been excellent, and the house had been beautiful. It had been a perfect evening.

Watching her with Andy had been difficult. Derek hadn't known what to expect, but what he'd seen hadn't been it. Watching her interact with him had changed the way he saw her. Suddenly, she wasn't just his daughter. She was Andy's partner. It wasn't difficult to see why everyone had been so on him about making up with the young couple. Andy would be family. One day he would officially become family. Seeing them together left no doubt of that in Derek's mind. He just had to decide if that was a good thing or not. Until he'd found out about their relationship, he'd liked Andy. 'Dr. Carmichael'. He was a capable doctor who worked hard. All Brookings grads were smart, but Andy had been more than that. His bedside manner had been impeccable, his personality charming.

Above all else, it was blatantly obvious that the young Dr. Carmichael he was madly in love with Margaret Shepherd. Watching them together, he'd been struck by the way they acted. The subtle touches, acts of affection. The way he pulled her chair out and the way he touched her neck, her waist…the way he brushed her temple with his lips when nobody was looking. They had made a home together and all that was standing in the way of their happiness was Derek himself.

Looking over the city, he realized that he'd changed so completely since leaving New York, that he was a different person altogether. If he was different, if Addison and Mark were different, then of course Meg was too. Seattle was their home now, and there was nothing to do but move forward.

---------

Mark was sitting in one of the doctor lounges, trying to relax and catch a minute before he was paged again. The lamps were on, so the room wasn't dark, but he put his head back, stretched his feet out on the floor, slouched down, and tried to find his 'happy place'. He was almost there when the door opened, and someone walked in. Hoping it was a scared nurse who would turn around and leave, Mark didn't react, but when the person crossed the room and sat down next to him, he opened one eyelid.

Derek was adopting his own relaxed pose, head back ankles crossed, elbow resting on the arm of the couch and the hand on his forehead as his head tipped into it.

"What was it like? When it started?"

Mark sighed deeply and gave up the pretense of sleeping.

"I don't know. You were supposed to be the first one to meet him."

"Hmm?"

"The night you walked in on us. It was the Holiday Classic, remember? And we were all running late, everyone was supposed to meet up there, but Addison and I thought you were on your way, but you stopped at home, saw us, and got on a plane. Andy was supposed to meet us that night. But nobody showed."

"But when you found out?"

"You sure you want to know."

Derek studied him for a moment, then nodded.

"I can take it."

"Boy that's what you think, isn't it? Alright. I went to go see Meg at Brookings."

"And?"

"And I walked in on them."

"On them…"

"In the throws. Let me tell you, not the image I was expecting. Literally mid thrust. God. It was awful."

Derek's head went back with the information, and his face screwed up in disgust.

"_Jesus. _Please tell me you attempted to kill him."

"Oh, immediately."

"_But he's still alive_."

"Your daughter put herself in front of him. Carmichael had to pick her up and move her."

Derek stayed silent, chewing over the new information.

"We know where they live."

"Hell yeah we do."

They shared a grin, and knocked fists. It had been their age old move, and both of them smiled at the gesture.

"They're just so…"

Mark broke off, not finding the right word.

"Couple-y?"

"Yes. Exactly."

"I mean, it's sort of comforting. In a way."

"It is…he really is crazy about her. After I walked in, punched him-"

"You actually _punched _him-"

"Mid thrust, Derek."

"Good point."

"Besides. It was only the stomach. I couldn't get a good angle on his jaw. So after that, she immediately launched herself at me and practically pushed me out of the room, and tried to be all rational and explain that she loved him, and tried to stop me from going back in there."

Mark shook his head, thinking back to the day it had happened…..

Flashback

Brookings Academy

McArthur Dormitory for Girls, 3rd Floor

1.5 years previous

--

"Move out of the way, Meg."

"No, no stop, I won't let you."

He was enraged, she was sobbing, trying to keep Mark in the living room area while he kept trying to make his way back to her room. She was wearing a pair of lose shirts she'd grabbed in haste and a bra, though neither seemed to notice. Her hair was wildly messed up, looking like exactly what it was; sex hair. She was breathing shallowly, trying to talk through her tears and catch her breath at the same time.

"Out of the way, Meg-"

"No, you can't-"

"Out of the fucking way, Meg."

"I love him-"

"Bullshit. Did he tell you he loved you? Is that how he got you into bed-"

"He _does _love me. Uncle Mark, we love each other, this is right-"

"You got a gold band on your third finger I'm unaware of? Then move aside."

"I _love him_. I love him. You can't hurt him."

"Nobody touches my girl-"

"I'm not a little girl anymore."

"The hell you're not."

"I am eighteen years old-"

"You don't turn eighteen till next week-"

"Almost eighteen, same thing, you can't do this Mark."

Mark stopped abruptly and looked at her incredulously. He was torn between what he saw and what he wanted to see, because they were two very different things. What he wanted to see was a little girl, her hair looking like she'd slept for a week and her eyes innocent with a touch of redness in her cheeks due to youth. He wanted to see a training bra and shorts with Spoungebob Squarepants, and toe nails that were painted a cute bubble gum pink.

In front of him was a woman. She had glorious hair, tousled from rolling around and a mouth swollen from passionate kisses. Her eyeliner was a bit astray and here eyes were bright with feeling and every rise of her chest pushed out her breasts, which were encased in lacy black underwear meant to make a woman feel sexy, and not just for necessity. The shorts were a deep red, with pink stripes and were barely more than women's panty briefs, while her toes were painted a deep, enticing scarlet.

She was a woman.

The thought scared the hell out of him. He stumbled back a step, shaking his head and trying to force off the knowledge that she really wasn't a little girl anymore.

"Mark?"

He took some steps towards the door, staggering a little bit and still lost in his own little world.

"I…have to go."

"Uncle Mark-"

"I have to go."

He turned to leave but she grabbed onto his waist, keeping him to her the same way she'd been pushing him away just moment before.

"No, don't leave like this-"

Mark tore himself away and left the dorm, going down the halls and stairs instead of taking the elevator. Within minutes he was outside, heaving deeply and walking away from the building. The housing quad was beautiful, with all the dorms centered around a huge green that boasted up kept trees and shrubbery and other greenery. The sun was shining, and the weather was beautiful, but he didn't notice anything as he steadfastly walked to the north edge of campus, closest to Meg (about a ten minute walk), and hailed a cab. Twenty minutes later he was in Central Park, sitting on a bench overlooking the lake. Since it was a Saturday, families were passing by with children, eating ice cream, and laughing as they walked through the park. Mark sat and stared at the water for another half hour, thinking back on the years. Meg was having sex.

_Meg was having sex. _

_With her boyfriend._

_Meg was having sex with her boyfriend. _

The thought was so astounding that it kept him sitting there and thinking about when she'd grown up. He'd been there with her every step of the way. Birthday's. Skating competitions. Every single dance recital and cello concert. He'd seen her loose teeth and grow her hair long, been there when she'd argued with Derek and Addison about what color to dye it and how radical the shade of green or blue could be. When she'd gone to her first movie with 'boys' (three of her girl friends and two of their friends who happened to be boys from school), he'd snuck in behind them with Derek to make sure no 'funny business' was going on. It was the first and last time he'd seen the movie Spice World, and he would mostly regret it for the rest of his life. He'd been there the day after Derek abandoned her, two week before, and he'd been there the first day she'd gotten her period. Unfortunately for them all, Addison was out of town and it had been him and Derek with a twelve year old and a box of maxi pads.

When he felt a presence next to him, he looked up, wholly unsurprised to see the object of his thoughts.

"What are you doing here?"

Meg sat down next to him, dressed in jeans and a blue pullover. Her hair was held back in a single clip, and her feet were enclosed in her Addias sneakers. All traces of the girl from an hour ago were gone, leaving a normal woman behind.

They sat in silence for long moments, before Meg swallowed all her emotions and laid her head on Mark's shoulder.

"I met him when I was sixteen. He's in the medical school. We started dating about a week after we met. He's been to see me in Russia and Switzerland. We've been together for a long time."

"Why am I finding out now."

"Because he's twenty-two."

"Fuck."

"I didn't tell Dad because I knew he'd flip out. Andy- Andrew- he loves me. He loves me a lot. He waited a long time for me, until I was ready, and now we're together in a completely new way."

"You're too young, Meg."

"How young were you?"

Mark sighed, knowing he couldn't use that logic on her. Just like he'd seen her grow up, she'd been around to see him waltz dozens of women into and out of his life. They never stayed long, and Meg couldn't help but notice just how his life had gone about.

"That isn't the point. By the time I was eighteen I'd done a million things that I'd do anything to prevent you from doing."

"I'm not going about this naively."

"Are you on birth control?"

That was the way things had always been between them. Blunt. They talked openly about personal things, probably because as much as Addison had tried, Meg wasn't into opening up to her stepmother.

Sighing, Meg looked up at the sky.

"We use protection."

"That's a no. Want to explain why not?"

"My doctor bills go right through Addison."

"And we wouldn't want a woman who cares about you and who's a leading gynecologist to know that you're sexually active."

"We're safe."

"God damnit, Meg."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to stop having sex. That's what I want."

Leaning even farther over, Meg brushed her lips on Mark's cheek. He was still looking down, but at the gesture he turned his head and looked directly at her.

"I love you. I love you so much- you're my uncle Mark. The best Uncle I have, and the only one I trust implicitly. I'm furious with you right now, because of what you did with Addison. _That_ would be the reason I haven't answered any of your calls. But you need to understand this. I love him. With everything in me. If you take the time to get to know him, you'll like him."

"You really expect me to just-"

"You betrayed your best friend by sleeping with his wife. Yeah. I expect you to."

-----

Present Day

-----

"So what happened after you punched him?"

"She tried to stop me, we argued, I stormed out, and she came to find me later. And we talked."

"_And?_"

Mark sighed deeply, remembering all the crap that their little family unit had gone through. When he and Addison had begun their affair, that unit had been destroyed, and they were only now in the process of getting it back. This time, there were new members.

"And I was feeling guilty for betraying my best friend."

Derek's forehead scrunched up.

"I thought you were in love with Addison."

"I was…I am. I am in love with Addison. But you were my brother, and I betrayed you, and that ate at my conscience and soul."

"Very poetic."

"Fuck off."

They both laughed, and remembered all the joking around they'd done as children, then teens, then college students. They'd also had a lot of firsts together. Gotten drunk for the first time in Derek's basement, while the whole family was out. And high. And told each other about their first times. Marks had been significantly before Derek's, however.

"She essentially guilt-ed me in to getting to know the bastard. Your daughter's a conniving little witch."

"Oh, don't I know it."

"So I got to know him. And I hated him at first- I was totally alone in this ridiculous farce of a situation because Meg refused to see Addison, and as it was she was barely talking to me, but she let me be around."

"So what changed your mind?"

"I saw the way he treated her. I saw how he cared and how he acted, and I saw the changes he was making. We were all concerned about her weight, but he made a difference. She ate more around him, and he wouldn't just let the issue go."

"How long do you think before they get married?"

"Idiot Boy says he wants to wait a little bit, so like, next year."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't even be surprised if he has a ring. Just like you."

Derek's head turned to look at him so fast he nearly got whiplash.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh please. Don't even try to lie. You called your mom and asked for the ring, didn't you?"

For a whole ten seconds Derek was speechless. And then he realized. And remembered. This was Mark. Just like Mark said- they'd been brothers. They had known each other's moods and movements and thoughts and spent days on end together as children, then teens, then adults. Of course Mark knew.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

That didn't mean he was going to admit to anything.

"Oh really. A certain princess cut diamond with two sapphires on each side. Having run in the family for ages. Having been _the _engagement ring for everyone."

Derek suddenly went melancholy, thinking of the very ring that was sitting in a safe deposit box at the Wells Fargo banks just a few streets down from the hospital. He knew he couldn't leave it at the house, because between Meredith and Izzy, it would probably go about a day before being found.

The beautiful ring, exactly as Mark had described, had been in Derek's family for generations. It was a special Shepherd tradition. The men proposed to their intendeds with it, and each of the men intending to marry a Shepherd girl were given the ring to propose with. It was then a second tradition to give an 'engagement' ring as a sign of love on the first anniversary of the marriage.

"You know, I never gave Addie the ring."

"What?"

"I never gave her the ring. I bought her an engagement ring. When I proposed."

"Why?"

Derek hesitated, not knowing what to say.

"I don't know why. I just did. Addison was Addison, and I went to Tiffany's and I got a ring."

"So you have it."

"Yeah…she's the one. She's it. I know I'm rushing, going too fast. But I don't want to wait long."

Mark nodded knowingly.

"You want to make her Dr. Shepherd."

-----

The next day, Derek walked into room 234, ready to have the interns present. At Bailey's prodding, Andy presented on Mr. Soloman, and Derek nodded as he looked over the chart.

"Very good. Mr. Soloman, Dr. Carmichael here is going to prep you and get to know you very well. Carmichael, I want CT, MRI and lab work back as fast as you can, I'd like to get a reading as soon as possible."

He gave a few more instructions and exited the room, leaving all the interns looking at each other in disbelief.

"Well, you heard the doctor. Get your buts moving."

They did so, happy that everything was getting better.

----

Things did get better over the next week. Derek and Andy were polite, professional, and even on occasion personally joking around. Derek really got to know him, not just about how his relationship with Meg was, but what he was like as a person. They found a common interest in baseball and Derek realized that he had been a complete ass in treating his daughter the way he had. He also found that with his change of heart, everyone was happier. Especially Meredith. She and Derek were together on a whole new level. There was nothing hanging over him anymore, except his excitement to finally be completely involved in his daughter's life again, after almost two years.

The next dinner date was set for that coming Friday night, and everyone seemed to be excited about the newfound happy feelings meeting again.

---

Derek knocked on the door of the Carmichael house, holding a bottle of wine and dressed simply in jeans and a pullover. He'd stopped at a downtown wine store to grab a good bottle, hoping to present it as a token of his sincerest apologies. Meredith answered the door, dressed similarly in jeans and a tank top.

"Hey."

They kissed sweetly, and he put an arm around her as they walked through the house.

"Thank you for doing this."

He just bent his head and kissed the top of her forehead.

"You were right."

They reached the kitchen, where everyone was hanging out. Andy was standing at the stove, stir frying something, while Izzy was perched on the island with Alex next to her, while he munched on a giant carrot stick. Meredith walked to the cabinet next to Andy and took a wine glass out, pouring some of the open wine into it for Derek. Derek slapped backs with Alex, nodded at Izzy and went to shake hands with Andy. Meredith hopped onto the island with Izzy, and after making small talk with Andy, Derek walked over to her, standing between her legs as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Meg will be home any minute. She had to take a longer practice this afternoon."

Derek nodded, looking around the kitchen at his friends. Izzy was laughing as she sipped on her wine, and occasionally took a nibble off the carrot stick.

"So what are we having for dinner?"

Andy gestured for Meredith to help him out, and as she poured some of the cooking wine into the frying pan, he turned the heat up.

"We are having sautéed vegetables in a port sauce with pork chops and potatoes."

"Smells good."

Chuckling, Andy continued to stir the frying pan.

"Thanks. I'm not Meg, but I can make something edible."

For ten minutes they chatted and laughed about events of the day, while Andy continued to stir fry and cook and check on whatever was in the oven. To Derek's supreme amusement, Meredith was Andy's little kitchen helper, measuring out oil and vegetables and chopping things. She seemed at home and easy, content to just help out. Alex and Izzy seemed to have progressed from their awkward stage into the earliest stages of flirtation. Izzy seemed to be laughing a lot, and Alex always had his charming face on. While their banter had certainly taken on that static sexual energy, they also seemed to be going slowly, with Izzy being careful, and Alex trying to feel out where they were going so that Izzy felt comfortable.

Unexpectedly, the door to the garage opened, and Meg walked in, looking showered and tired, but happy. She dropped the bags she was carrying into a hidden closet Derek hadn't even noticed was there, and then walked more fully into the kitchen. She was wearing blue jeans with a white linen hippie shirt, and some serious heels- not the stiletto kind, but a pair of power pumps in dark purple velvet and a three inch heel.

She eagerly hugged everyone, but when she came to Derek, she stood in front of him.

"Meg."

Immediately, she was hugging him tightly, and he returned the embrace, kissing the top of her head and whispering his apology in her ear.

"I love you daddy."

It seemed like years since she had called him Daddy, and Derek felt his heart glue itself back together just a tiny bit. After they had parted, and Meredith came to wrap an arm around Derek's waist, Meg moved to Andy and hugged him from behind. He turned his head, and managed to brush his lips against her temple before turning back to the stove.

"How was practice?"

"Fine. Tiring. Pavel's pissed off with me."

"What else is new."

She cracked a smile, and sighed.

"Hey babe. I picked up some more cooking oil, it's in a bag in the music room?"

The obvious question was would she go and get it.

"What's it doing there?"

"I was just clearing out some of the boxes we had in there and I ended up leaving the bags."

"Sure."

She turned to walk through the living room, and when she was halfway across the carpet, Andy put the stove off and leaned against the counter, earning a weird look from Izzy. He just shook his head and looked at Meg, still walking to the music room. She opened the double French doors and walked in, but half a second later emitted a scream of surprise and delight that startled everyone in the kitchen except Andy. Almost immediately, she came running back out of the room, through the living room and back into the kitchen, where she launched herself at Andy who was seemingly ready for the embrace. She wrapped her legs around his waist as she kissed his face all over.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

They were both laughing, and Andy started walking towards the music room, with everyone following in complete confusion. Izzy was a little unsure that both of them were still sane, and Alex seemed not to really care or know what was going on, but enjoying the situation all the same. Derek and Meredith followed last, arms wrapped around each other as they went into the music room, where, in the very middle, was a beautiful black piano.

A baby grand piano to be exact.

Meredith's mouth dropped into a little 'o' as she surveyed the piano. It was absolutely magnificent. Without being told, she knew it was untouched- had never been in a home and played by a number of busy people. Derek's arm loosened around her wais a little bit as he took in the gift, and the joy that Meg was exhibiting.

"I thought we were going to wait?"

Andy shrugged and put her back on the ground, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I was in the store browsing and I couldn't resist. I had it delivered about two hours ago."

"It's beautiful. Thank you, so much."

He kissed her neck, and nodded towards the instrument.

"Try it out."

She nodded, and went to the bench, opening up the fold in to reveal the beautiful white keys. Placing her foot on the pedals she quietly played a scale, and, smiling, put both hands on the keys. Meg began to play what Meredith recognized as Canon in D, by Pachebel. The melody poured out, softly but surely as she worked her fingers over the keys, and her foot worked the pedals. For three or four minutes she played, completely engrossed in the piano, while the rest of them watched in awe. Then she stopped, and carefully closed the fold out, sliding off the bench and walking to Andy. She wrapped her arms around his neck and went on the tip of her toes, lifting the heels of the ground only marginally. She kissed his cheek softly, then smiled.

"Thank you."

"It'll be nice to hear you play again…" His face took on a wicked smirk; "It'll be a nice change from that godforsaken cello."

"Oh, you!"

She poked his sides, and just wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Izzy and Meredith began to talk to Alex and Derek about what a beautiful piano it was, and while Alex remarked on how expensive it must have been, Derek was more concerned with how his daughter lovingly ran her fingers over the brand name stamped on the top of the piano, and how Andy kept his hand lightly on her neck.

"Shall we eat?"

At his announcement/question, they all made their way through the house to the dining room, where Andy already had the plates set up, and as they sat and Meg poured wine, he went to get the food. Ten minutes later they were eating, and everyone agreed that while Andy wasn't any Meg Shepherd, the food was delicious. They ate and drank liberally, enjoying the food and talk and atmosphere. Derek shared funny stories from the hospital in New York, and Alex told them stories of wrestling on his college circuit. Andy added crew stories and they laughed and laughed until they could eat no more, and their sides hurt. Just at the end of dinner the phone rang, and Meg excused herself to answer it. She returned five minutes later with small smile.

"Pavel?"

She slid into her chair and shook her head.

"Nan. She's safe and sound in the hotel."

Derek looked up with interest, remembering his daughter's best friend vividly.

"Shannon? How's she doing?"

Meg smiled fondly.

"Fantastic. She's in Paris right now. Still under the Law program at Brookings, but she's specializing in international law, so she's there for the semester."

"I remember her so well. The two of you were always together."

"I miss her. We were roommates the whole time we were at Brookings."

"She's enjoying law?"

"Immensely. You know her- always arguing. But she still paints when she can. We have several of her canvases here."

"The ones from the bedroom?"

Meg nodded at Izzy, and had some more wine.

"She's an amazing painter. It's her way of relaxing. I can't do anything artistic to save my life, so I have to find alternate methods."

"What do you do?"

"I play the piano. Mostly. I have to haul ass about the cello, but I've always been at ease at the piano. And I do a lot of knitting. That's pretty much it. Nothing all that productive, but I didn't have a lot of time before."

"So what are the plans for the next few months."

"I leave for Moscow in two weeks, then I'm there for three weeks, back for a month, then I have Nationals at the end of November, followed by the World Championships a week later, and then, depending on those two competitions possibly the Olympics at the end of February."

"Sounds busy. Why are you going back to Moscow."

"My skating school is having a workshop?"

"School?"

Meredith and Derek had talked for hours about Meg and her skating, but Alex and Izzy were still a little bit out of the loop.

"I'm technically a student at the Upper Petrofski School of Ice Skating. It's a really snooty hardcore membership school. I just train there when I'm in Moscow. And they're holding a workshop, meaning they'll invite lots of past coaches and skaters and I'll have to work with them on my Olympic routines. It's just really intensive training. And a chance to be judged by people other than my personal coach to get some perspective."

"Are you doing the Happy Holiday's Exhibition?"

Meg grinned.

"I am, actually."

Derek turned to the rest of the table, getting back into the skating jargon.

"Izzy, you'd love this. It's a Christmas competition, and they have three nights of skating. The First two nights are actually a competition, and they do routines to Christmas music, but the third night they skate outside at the rink in front of the Rockefeller building, by the Christmas tree."

"That does sound like fun."

"It's great fun, actually. One of more fun competitions. Not as much stress because it doesn't factor into the National ranking."

"What are your pieces."

"Frosty the Snowman for the short, Somebody to Love by Queen for the long, and The Christmas Song for the exhibition."

"That'll be fun. Queen?"

"I love that song and Pavel finally said I could do it. It's happy and lots of music so it works."

They made other conversation while everyone ate, and then they went to the living room to digest while Andy warmed up the apple pie that Meg had made for dessert. Derek and Alex flipped through the channels looking for a game while Meg cut into the pie and served it on slices.

At one point, Derek turned around to say something to his daughter, but was caught by the scene in the kitchen. Meg was still at the island, laughing with Meredith and Izzy over something. Meredith put her hand on Meg's arm as the two women chuckled, unaware they were being watched. Derek saw his daughter and the rest of his life interacting, and it brought such a sense of contentment to him, that he forgot what he was going to say, instead opting to just look at them; alive, together and happy.


	22. All in the Family

I know it's been forever, but please stick with me, I'm trying to update frequently again

-----

The next few weeks progressed perfectly, with dinners and lunches and general goodwill. Meg and Meredith had lunch whenever they could, and Derek spent quite a bit of his off time at the ice complex, watching Meg practice. Her routines were progressing slowly but surely, and she he could see her becoming more focused on her goal. There were also large 'family dinners' with Alex, Izzy, Mark, and Addison. With life progressing, time found that Mark and Alex got along surprisingly well (no surprise, Meredith and Addison said), and Mark and Derek began to hang out again, going running together in the mornings occasionally. Addison was getting settled into the house she and Mark had purchased in the neighborhood, and whenever she could, Meg joined her former step-mother shopping around Seattle's artistic district and furniture stores.

Andy and Meg spent a lot of time together as well. They cooked and went shopping and took long walks together, enjoying spending time relaxing. Chief Webber had given Andy a more relaxed schedule until Meg left, under the agreement that he would log more hours once she was actually in Russia.

One Friday morning, about a week before Meg was supposed to depart, Derek was at the coffee cart getting a drink after his surgery. He had no scheduled surgeries for the rest of the day, and was thinking about ducking out early after his afternoon rounds were done. Just as he was about to go upstairs to find Meredith, he saw Andy coming up the main staircase to Seattle Grace.

Next to the young intern was a woman- a very beautiful woman. She had black hair that was in a thick braid to one side, resting over her shoulder, and was wearing blue jean Capri's with a pink button down polo shirt. Her feet were enclosed in white tennis shoes, and she had a large blue bag under one arm.

Derek looked at the pair in disbelief for a moment, before exclaiming loudly.

"Daphne!"

Daphne saw her brother and immediately rushed into his waiting arms. Derek held her close and kissed the top of her head, enjoying hugging his younger (and favorite) sister. Andy followed smiling, watching the two siblings unite.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Thanks, Derek. A lot. I don't see you in forever, and that's the welcome I get?"

"Of course I'm thrilled to see you, but, I just didn't expect…"

She smiled, displaying a dazzlingly beautiful smile to go with her green eyes and pretty features.

"Don't worry. It was a last minute decision. I was on the phone with Meg last night and we wanted to get together before she left for Moscow again, so we brought the kids up for the weekend."

"You have Tommy and the kids?"

"They're with Meg touring Seattle."

"So you guys are here till Sunday?"

"Yeah. We thought we'd take a weekend and relax with Meg and Andy and hopefully see you and how you were."

"I'm great. What are your plans right now?"

"I was just going to stick with Andy for the afternoon, and wait around if any work actually comes his way."

"Tell you what. Burke is replacing a heart valve in about an hour, and I know he needed an intern. I'll let you on the case if you let me have my sister for the afternoon."

Andy laughed, and kissed Daphne's cheek.

"Now that's a deal I'll take. Sorry Daph."

"I'll see you later, sweetie."

Andy took off, leaving Daphne and Derek alone.

"I want you to meet Meredith."

Daphne's whole face lit up.

"I can't wait. Meg says she's fantastic."

"She is. Come on."

They took the elevator to the fourth floor, where they were in luck. Meredith was sitting at the nurse's station entering information into the computer. Next to her, Izzy was seated with her feet on the desk doing charts and talking on the phone with what sounded like the lab. When Meredith saw the pair walk up, she smiled and stood, happy to see him for the first time that morning.

"Mer, I want you to meet my younger sister Daphne Masterson.. Daph, this is Meredith Grey."

Meredith began to reach over the counter to shake her hand, but Daphne reached over first and pulled Meredith into a hug as best she could with the counter between them. A little bit surprised, Meredith awkwardly hugged her back.

"It's so great to meet you."

"You as well. Derek talks about you a lot."

"Aww. We were playmates when we were kids. He and Mark always included me in their little antics against Suzie and Janna. But we've all heard so much about you, it's wonderful to finally put a face to the name. My niece raves about you."

"Meg is amazing. I'm so happy she moved to Seattle."

"So am I. And about Derek's re-location. For almost five years I've been stuck on the west coast all by myself. It's nice to have family so close by."

Meredith smiled at Daphne, a little bit relieved to like her so much. She seemed to be warm and welcoming and genuinely happy about Meredith's relationship with Derek.

"So what are you doing in Seattle?"

"I was talking to Meg last night and we decided- my husband Tom and I- to take the kids on a weekend getaway so we could see Meg before she leaves for Russia again. Even though it's only a month. She'll be so busy with the trials coming up and then preps for the Olympics."

Meredith's pager went off, and she looked up apologetically.

"I'm with Bailey today."

"Please. I totally understand. I hope we can see more of the two of you this weekend."

"That's sounds wonderful. It was nice to meet you."

They hugged again and Meredith dashed off. Derek nodded at Izzy, who rolled her eyes at the person on the phone and gave a little wave to Derek.

"So. What now?"

Derek leaned forward to Izzy, who covered the phone with one hand.

"Izzy, if anyone asks, I'm out of the hospital for a little while, but I have my pager."

"Sure thing."

Leading Daphne back to the elevator, Derek pressed the button to the ground floor and they began to descend.

"She's gorgeous."

"No more gorgeous than you are. But yeah. She's pretty spectacular."

"I can definitely see why you want to give her the ring."

Looking at his sister in disbelief, Derek sputtered a few times.

"Is there _anybody_ who doesn't know that?"

"Please. Mom called me like five minutes after she got off the phone with you."

Derek gave a little laugh.

"It took her that long?"

"Well, she had to go through Janna and Suzie and Casey."

He shook his head, thinking of his mother calling all four girls in order. The Shepherd family had always been a close one, but there had certainly been groups. Janna and Nancy had been a year apart in age, and always been together. They were the typically 'perfect' daughters, though they didn't get along with any of their other siblings. Derek was almost four years younger than Nancy, and Daphne just two years behind him. Casey was a year younger than Daphne, had come out to her parents as a lesbian when she was sixteen. The Shepherd's supported her, but Casey had always been more independent, being the youngest, and had branched out more with her friends.

They walked out of Seattle Grace and followed the sidewalk to the nearby park, where there was a nice walking route. Slowing their pace, Daphne linked arms with her big brother and smiled at him.

"So. Tell me all about it."

"I met her at a bar. The night before I started work at Seattle Grace. And I was handsome-"

"So she was obviously drunk."

"Hey. Even if she hadn't been drunk, she would have taken me home. Which she did, because how could she not- look at me!...but then she kicked me out the next morning, and got to work and we found out I was her boss."

"Aren't you good luck."

"Just wait for it. I bugged her to go out with me, and things were fantastic and then Addison showed up. And I had to try with Addie. I couldn't just let everything go down the drain. So I tried. And for a while I thought it might work. And then it didn't-"

"Meaning you slept with Meredith."

"Why do you have to know me so well?"

Daphne turned her face up to his, smiling sweetly.

"Because I know you better than anyone except maybe Mark…so you and Meredith had sex."

"We did. And then Meg showed up and Addie and I took a break and we got divorced and Mer and I were going slow, I found out about the young Dr. Carmichael, Mer and I got serious and I realized I was being an ass about Andy. And now we're all one big happy family. Including Addison and Mark who have moved in together down the street from Meg."

"I know. Mark sent me pictures."

"I should have known. You and Mark were always thick as thieves. Even without me around. There was a while when I thought the two of you would…"

Daphne's eyebrows shot up into her hairline.

"Would what?"

"Well...you know."

She shook her head in amusement.

"No. What?"

"Well…get together."

Letting out a loud laugh, Daphne stopped short.

"Mark? And I? Together? I've been crazy about Tommy since we were kids. I've never even looked at another guy."

"Yeah, but you and Mark were always so chummy. Remember he took you to your junior prom?"

"How could I forget. Three days before prom and Tommy blew his knee out in that soccer game and had to have surgery. I wasn't even going to go, but Mark showed up and was Prince Charming and convinced me to go with him. He danced every single song with me."

She broke off, remembering fond memories of Sean (meg's birth father), Mark, and Derek,and how the four of them had hung out as children. Derek and Mark had really been wonderful to her- always letting her tag along and included her in their games. After one specific incident, that was. When she was about five, and Mark and Derek seven, she had followed them to a nearby lake where they used to go swimming. Derek had repeatedly told her not to come, but she had snuck behind them on her bike, and when they reached the lake, she had been running so fast to catch up, that she tripped and went tumbling down a hill only to land at the very bottom of a stonier part of land. The angle she fell had been too much, and the result was a broken arm. Mark (being the bigger of the two boys) had carried her all the way back to the house, and from then on, felt that she ought to be included, probably out of some misplaced guilt. Derek always got along better with Daphne then Jenna or Nancy, and though Daphne and Casey close, Daphne was older than Casey. Derek hadn't particularly minded after she became a regular fixture at their wild romps.

Then, Daphne met Tommy Masterson.

The Masterson family had moved into a house on the same street as the Shepherd's when Derek was around 10. The family comprised of two girls and a boy, and everyone in the neighborhood immediately took to the nice family. Tommy was a year older than Daphne, and only one year younger than Derek, so he naturally fell into the group. That first summer, Daphne developed her first and only crush, falling in eight-year-old love with Tommy. Knowing she would be teased mercilessly, she kept it to herself, and nobody was the wiser. When she was ten, however, she and Tommy gradually began to spend more time together, never quite voicing their relationship, but slowly becoming natural partners for everything. It wasn't until the end of her eighth grade year when he finally had the guts to ask her out, and they began dating that summer.

"How's Tommy doing?"

"Great. Really well. He loves the company he's with, and he's able to be home by five every day, so the kids get to see him for the whole evening. He never works on weekends, he can take time as he needs…it's fabulous."

"Things are still good, then?"

Daphne nodded, and squeezed Derek's arm just a little bit tighter. After finishing high school, Daphne had gone to Sarah Lawrence to be a creative writing major. She and Tommy had married just after her senior year, and she had moved into the city to do graduate work at Columbia, while Tommy had begun to attend The Wharton school of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Their graduate years had been heaven, living in the little studio apartment that Daphne had found for them. Tommy had arranged his schedule to be in Philadelphia from Monday to Thursday morning, and off on Fridays, so he could be in NYC from Thursday afternoon to Monday night. Immediately after graduation, Tommy had been recruited by a high powered firm in New York, and they began their life together in New York. Daphne graduated with an emphasis in children's literature, and she began to work on her first projects as soon as she could after graduation. With her books and stories began to get picked up by editors and publishing companies, and they were both happy with where they were. The money was fantastic, and five years after finishing graduate school, Daphne got pregnant with Joshua. Almost around the same time, Tommy began to move up the corporate ladder, and their life became crazy. He was gone for longer hours, working all the time, and Daphne was feeling overwhelmed. When Josh was almost 4, she unexpectedly got pregnant again, and to their shock, discovered that the baby- a little girl- had a heart problem. It was an exceedingly tough pregnancy, and when Elizabeth Shepherd Masterson had been delivered and was finally out of the woods, Daphne had begged Tommy to find a different job. The solution had been to move to San Diego, where he found a wonderful offer and they could really grow as a family.

"Things are wonderful, Der. I think that no matter what, after Lizzie was born things were going to change."

"Mark told me that you and Tommy were on the point of getting a divorce right before you got pregnant with Lizzie."

She nodded slowly, thinking about how far she had come.

"I like to think that I would have had the courage to leave him if things hadn't changed. I wouldn't have wanted to, but it was so hard."

"Not a whole lot different from the problems Addie and I had. We were both absent."

"I know how hard it was for you. I _tried_ never to make you feel down about it, I know how hard-"

"Daph, you're probably the only person other than Casey, who was a hundred percent supportive of me throughout that whole time…and you were still supportive of Addie. How do you do it?"

"I just figured it wasn't about blaming either of you. When Tommy and I were having problems, Casey was so there for me, just being supportive. She and Francesca were invaluable. Besides. You're my brother, and I love you so much. But Mark is also my brother and Addison is my sister. Divorce shouldn't eradicate families. Remember, Mark and Addison are Lizzie's godparents."

"Yeah…I remember how pissed Nancy was when you made that announcement. And then that you were moving across the country. She worked on mom for days to tell you to stay in the area. She always wanted to bully you."

"To tell you the truth, and you can't tell anyone else, Derek- I mean it. Mom would die…We didn't move to San Diego because of that job offer Tommy got. He had another one in New York that was just as good, but I begged him to pick San Diego. I just couldn't live in the city anymore. Nancy and Janna were always on my back about how I should raise Josh and how I needed to do more of this or go here or…just all that crap. And Casey and Francesca (Casey's girlfriend) were so encouraging, along with Mark…I just wanted a fresh start. And with Lizzie, I just wanted to raise my family in peace."

"Don't worry about it, Daph. Nancy and Janna always interfered in what didn't concern them."

"I agree."

"So. When are you going to ask her?"

"I don't know. When we're ready."

"And when will that be?"

"_Daphne_."

"_Derek_. I'm an old married lady. I need to live vicariously through you and Meg."

"I'm older than you are."

"True. So. You like Seattle?"

"I do. I really do. It has ferry boats."

"Indeed. And you do so love ferry boats."

Daphne paused, smiling up at her brother as they continued their stroll through the park. Even back in New York (when she lived there), Derek had sometimes found the time to take an afternoon stroll with Daphne and Josh.

"I'm really proud of you."

"_You? _Proud of _me?_ Why?"

"Because of how you handled Andy."

"You shouldn't be. I was awful to her. Both about Andy, and for being an awful father."

"Derek, I was there the day she was born. I've been her aunt from day one, and I was there the day that Sean and Tracy died. You stepped up the moment you heard that there was an accident. You made her your number one priority, and changed your whole life to make her welcome. You couldn't have loved her any more than Sean did. And she knows that."

"But these last few years-"

"All that matters is that you're here for her now. That's all that will ever matter."

"Thanks, Daph. For everything."

She smiled, and they continued to talk as they walked back to the hospital. They had a lazy lunch in the cafeteria, before Daphne caught a cab back to Meg's house, and Derek promised to come for dinner with Meredith. Derek went into surgery, and by the time he got out, Meredith's shift was just over. He caught up with her in the locker room. Kissing her quickly before changing.

"Hey. Is dinner at Meg's with Daph and Tommy and the kids okay?"

"That sounds great. Can we run home for a quick shower?"

Derek grinned at her. "We never take quick showers."

Meredith just laughed and wrapped her arm around him as they made their way out of the hospital. They hurried home and (for the first time) took a quick shower, dressing for dinner and leaving. Meredith threw on a nice v-neck with jeans and heels, and Derek put on his usual pants and a pullover. They arrived at the Carmichael's just after five, and when they got to the door, the screen was closed, but the door opened. They walked in, and made their way through the hallway towards the kitchen. They could hear what sounded like a crowd of people talking animatedly, and Derek suddenly stopped, and turned to Meredith.

"Sweetheart, I am so sorry."

Meredith looked at him in bewilderment as he took her hand and pulled her out into the kitchen/living room. It was full of people. Full, of what Meredith realized, were Shepherds. She recognized many of them from the pictures that Meg had around the house, and when they walked into view, there was a general chorus of "Derek" as they were swarmed by people. He was hugged and kissed, and he pulled her through the throng to where his mother was standing by the island, looking like a regal queen in tan trousers and a silk shirt. Her hair was a silvery blonde, beautifully swept into a twist at the back, and she wore a strand of pearls and simple pearl studs. She looked her age in the most beautiful way, and Derek embraced her warmly.

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

She smiled, and kissed his cheek.

"Well, I happened to talk to Daphne last night after she had gotten off the phone with Meg, and she mentioned that she was coming for the weekend, and Nancy was there with me, and we thought it would be lovely to see Meg before she left, so we all flew out. Rather a last minute thing. But aren't you glad to see me? I don't see you in months and here you are-"

"I'm thrilled to see you mom. You look wonderful."

"You look tired, sweetheart."

"_Thanks_, mom. Here, I want you to meet Meredith."

He pulled her in front of him, and Meredith was face to face with the matriarch of the Shepherd clan. Previously, Derek had told Meredith all about his mother. She had been born into money, but decided at a young age to break free, and try her hand in the journalism world. She had been assigned to follow a case being prosecuted by a brash young lawyer, Harrison Shepherd. They had a tumultuous courtship, but within months, Harrison married the former Connecticut debutante, and they became pregnant quickly afterwards. She continued to work through the pregnancy, until she had Janna, and tried to juggle being a first time mom, and her career, but when she got pregnant with Nancy, she decided to stay home with the girls. She also demanded that Harrison loosen up on his hours, and they became a bustling, fun loving family. She never lost her wit or spark, or shrewd intelligence.

"Hi, Mrs. Shepherd."

"Oh please, Call me Kathleen."

She hugged Meredith, and kissed her cheeks as well. Meredith returned the gesture, lingering in it for a moment. Kathleen smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, and her warmth was genuine. Kathleen let Meredith go, and smiled.

"Derek, please introduce Meredith to your family."

"Okay, mom."

He turned around, and began to introduce Meredith to his sisters. First was Nancy, the lawyer who was a dark brunette with a short, pixie like bob. She had her husband with her, Matthew, and Derek explained that she had two girls, aged 10 and 7, though they were running around with the other children. Next was Janna, who was a light brunette, with shoulder length hair that was pulled into a ponytail. She was dressed in a skirt suit and heels (a real estate agent), and her husband Frank was standing next to her in his own business suit. Janna had two boys and a girl, aged 13, 8 and 6. Sitting in the living room was Casey, the youngest Shepherd, who was lovely blonde wearing form fitting trouser suit and heels. Casey was an environmental lawyer, and her partner Francesca, was a media consultant. They were in the process of trying to adopt a baby, and Derek had told Meredith that he hoped that he and Casey could get as close as he and Daphne were. It was just hard since she was so busy and he had always been so busy at the hospital. Then, by Casey and Francesca, Daphne and her husband Tommy were standing.

"Meredith, this is my husband Tom."

"It's so nice to meet you."

"You as well."

All of the children were running around, and Daphne managed to latch onto one as a little blonde head tried to whiz by. "Lizzie, this is your Aunt Meredith." Lizzie hugged Meredith's legs, and Meredith bent down.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Then she darted off to follow her playmates. All the family was talking again, and Daphne turned to Derek and Meredith.

"I got home from the hospital, and I found mom and dad. Just here. With Nancy and Matt and the kids. They got here right after Meg went to the ice complex. And then they all just arrived."

"How did they get in?"

"They took taxi's from the airports."

Casey gave a long sigh. "Janna called me this morning and told me that Meg and Andy _wanted_ everyone to come out for the weekend."

"It's ridiculous."

The door from the basement opened, and Andy emerged, looking tired and wary. He set a couple cans he had brought up on the island, and made his way over to Derek, Meredith, Daphne, Casey and Francesca. He walked up and Derek gave him the man-slap on the back.

"So. You must have had quite the surprise when you got home."

"Uh, yeah. I got here about an hour after Gamma and Nonno."

"Where is Dad?"

"He's upstairs taking a nap."

"When is Meg getting home?"

Andy shook his head. "Soon. I left her a message, but her phone is off. God. She's going to freak out. So you met the family?"

Meredith nodded and smiled. "Everyone seemed nice."

Casey rolled her eyes. "Nancy and Janna haven't shown their true colors."

"What are you doing for dinner?"

"Tonight, I think pizza is the only option. We can cook tomorrow."

They continued to chat until the door to the garage opened, and Meg walked in, looking completely astounded as she witnessed the whole family in her house.

"Gamma?"

Kathleen immediately embraced her oldest granddaughter, ignoring her stunned expression. Nancy and Janna, their husbands, and all of the children immediately flocked to Meg, the kids hugging and screaming in excitement. As Kathleen explained what they were all doing there, Meg's eyebrows shot up almost into her hair, but she only smiled and assured everybody that she was thrilled they were there. She was slowly able to make her way over to the group by the tv, and she threw her arms around Casey. "Hey sweetie." Of all her aunts (and between Derek, Mark, Addison, birth parents Sean and Tracy, Meg had_plenty_), Daphne and Casey were her favorites. Daphne had always been there to listen and encourage, and Casey had been a calming influence on Meg as she grew up.

"Francesca!"

She hugged her other Aunt, and smiled. Francesca had hooked Meg up with her agent, Angel Angelo, who had done a spectacular job of getting Meg good media, and keeping her safe and private. Andy pulled Meg aside for a moment, and they discussed what they would do with everybody and how to feed them. There was a bedroom for each couple, and all of the children could sleep in the playroom. Andy began to order the pizza's, and Meg set the kids up in the basement with movies to keep them occupied until the food came. Then she opened a bottle of wine for all the adults. Minutes later, Harrison Shepherd came downstairs after finishing his nap, and Meredith was introduced. He seemed to be more like Mark then he was like Derek; sharp and slightly sarcastic, she was a little surprised when he hugged Derek and kissed his son's cheek.

"Dad, this is Meredith."

"It's good to meet you Meredith. I've heard a lot about you from the women in this family."

She laughed, and Harrison extended his arms for a hug, which Daphne pushed her into.

"I only hope my son can make you as happy as you've made him."

She smiled at him, and nodded. "I can't imagine that I make him as happy as he makes me."

Harrison then greeted his granddaughter, who was busy making sides to go with the pizza. As she was whipping up some dip and vegetable munchies, Harrison went over and put a hand on her shoulder, kissing the top of her head when she went in to hug him.

"Hey Nonno."

"You look good, Meggie. Been taking care of yourself?"

"Yeah. I have…Thanks for coming out to visit."

He gave a little snort. "As if I had any choice in the matter. But I'm thrilled to be here. You've got a good home."

"Thanks, Grandpa. Did Andy set you up okay? Blankets and the-"

"Don't worry. He got everything I needed..."

Harrison bent hiss head down closer to hers and put his hand over hers, stopping her from mixing the bowl. "I know that I gave you a real hard time last year. But he's a good kid, Meggie."

"Yeah. He is."

Harrison was a gruff man by nature, and fiercely protective of his family, so it meant a lot to Meg that he would say that. He had always been open with actions; kisses, hugs etc, but less so with words.

She continued to mix the dip, and chop up vegetables as the Shepherd siblings interacted, with Derek, Meredith, Casey, Francesca, Daphne and Tom lingering in the corner. Meredith found that Casey was just as fun-loving and fun to talk to as Daphne, and that she was happy to find allies in two Shepherd sisters.Unlike her sisters and brother, Casey was the only blond, and she was a true blonde at that. Her hair wasn't the sandy, beach blond of California, but a blend of whitish gold. She kept it straight and just past her shoulders, with the top swept up in a tiny poof that was so stylish and popular. Francesca had hair like Meg's, only much darker, and a mass of curled perfection that Meredith strongly suspected was natural. She had olive skin and Meredith couldn't decide which ethnicity she seemed to be. They were both tall, but Casey seemed exquisitely powerful and elegant in her dark grey suit, while Francesca was curvaceous and adorable in a skirt suit with a red silk shirt.

Tom was like a cut out figure of perfection for Daphne. He was classically handsome, with dark brown hair and an all American demeanor. Meredith knew that the two of them had been married for almost ten years, but it made her smile to watch them together. They were always touching- his arm around her, or her hand on his shoulder, even holding hands sometimes. It was something that she could see herself doing with Derek in ten years, since she had come to believe that Derek was her future, just as she was his.

Casey went and got Meredith a drink- a glass from the bottle Meredith had opened, and grabbed a beer for Derek. Francesca had seated herself in one of the deck table chairs and was sipping on her own glass of wine. Meredith sat next to her and began conversation with her and Casey, while Derek chatted with Tom and Daphne.

"So what exactly do you do as a media consultant?"

Francesca smiled sweetly, making her appear more adorable then sexy.

"I work for a firm that has high profile clients; movie stars, celebrities of all kinds, from chef's to athletes to artists. And we just try and negotiate and deal with the media coverage that surrounds them."

"This sounds so dumb, but how-"

"I keep a lid on what my clients should do and shouldn't. I get them the best security, place them in the best light for the public to see, generally try and keep them visible but removed. Not quite a publicist, but something in between. I often work with publicists."

"That sounds pretty cool."

"I enjoy it. Added to that, the clients my firm deals with aren't the kind who get trashed and drive drunk. They tend to be more…wholesome individuals. So it really isn't something I don't like doing."

Casey smiled. "And, thanks to her, we get tickets to everything and everywhere."

"How long have you two been together?"

"Ten years. Actually, we met on September 24, so next weekend."

"Congratulations. How did you meet?"

Casey laughed, and put her glass down on the table. "Thank You. We met at a party. It was in New York at a downtown restaurant- some chic thing thrown by my firm. I was a total newbie, just graduated from Yale in the spring, and I had this dream job."

Francesca snorted. "And what a dream job it was. She was working thirteen or fourteen hour days, doing backbreaking research and minuscule details."

"_Anyway_, I was little less then a junior partner then. And I had to go to this thing, so I went, and Francesca was there with her firm, who occasionally did business with mine."

"And it just took off from there?"

"Sort of. I had to be a little aggressive with Casey. Like I said- she was a workaholic. So finding time was difficult. But we made it work. We got an apartment together that spring and we've been together since."

Derek had wandered over, and put a hand on Francesca's shoulder.

"Their apartment has been upgraded, however. The first place they lived was absolutely terrible. Nothing worked. At all. Mark and I tried to fix the water pipes as a surprise the day they moved in. We got everything soaked. Had absolutely no clue what we were doing."

"I ended up figuring it out myself. It really wasn't that hard. And you call yourself a brain surgeon, Derek."

"I try, Frannie. I try."

Meredith turned to Casey. "So you're three years younger then Derek?"

Derek inturrupted his sister."Technically, but only in age. Casey here's an over achiever." Meredith ignored Derek and looked at Casey.

"Yes. But Derek's right, I guess. When I was in the seventh grade, I had the option to skip the eighth grade and move on directly to high school. And I jumped at the opportunity. So Daphne and I graduated the same year. But people usually forget that because I'm not in any of the graduation photo's."

"Casey took part in a foreign exchange program her senior year of high school. She spent a year in Paris."

"Wow. I've only backpacked there."

"It was a good year. I learned a lot. I think it prepared me for college and especially law school so well."

"Francesca, where are you from?"

"I grew up in San Antonio, but my dad moved our family to Washington D.C. when I was thirteen. He's a doctor. His family is from the San Antonio area- my grandparents on his side are from both Mexico and Spain- they met at a church function, and my mother's parents were Italian immigrants who settled in D.C."

Daphne and Tom joined them, and Daphne gracefully slid into the seat on the other side of Casey.

"So. Meredith. You've almost survived your first Shepherd ambush. How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I think. I'm just so…surprised. You all just got on a plane and flew here?"

Tom smiled. "They're a little frightening, I know."

Casey grimaced and Daphne sighed.

"Janna and Nancy are a little…controlling. They were too busy to really pay attention during Meg's childhood, but when she got a little older, they pretend to be the best aunts in the world…I suppose their hearts are in the right places, but still. They like to be involved in everybody's business."

"And mom just wants to keep the peace." There was a note of bitterness in Casey's voice, and Daphne absently put her hand over her sister's.

"Unfortunately, it's true. And dad didn't really tolerate arguing, so everything was covert when we were kids."

There was a long silence, until Francesca put a hand on Casey's neck. "Why don't we go unpack quickly and then help Meg out?"

Casey nodded, and they rose, excusing themselves. Daphne watched them go with a sad expression on her face, and Derek shook his head, though he took Francesca's empty chair next to Meredith.

"Casey's a little…uneasy with all the family. She had it hard when we were kids."

"Because of her sexuality?"

Daphne was silent for a moment, looking through the French doors to where her sisters were crowding Meg at the island.

"Not exactly. Casey was always the youngest, and Nancy and Janna were always trying to make her their little pet. But she never really had any interest in them or their antics. And as we grew up, they began to pick on her more and more. But when she came out…they would never, ever criticize her for her sexual orientation, because they know that nobody would stand for it- least of all dad. But I really think they resent her for being different. They're very concerned with appearances and being the perfect cookie cutter families. And they probably hate very much that Casey is so independent and not under their influence. I mean, we all get along mostly well one on one. But when the two of them are together and we're all here for family stuff, it get's intense."

"Francesca seems wonderful."

Derek nodded in agreement. "Francesca is one of the loveliest persons I have ever met. It just goes to show, because Nancy and Janna don't like her. But dad and mom love her, and she's been so wonderful for Casey."

"What are their husbands like? Frank and….:

Meredith trailed off, not remembering everybody, but Daphne jumped in.

"Matthew. They're fine. Bland. Boring. Nothing like Tom or Francesca. Or you. You're not bland or boring."

"_Daphne_."

She shot her husband an innocent look, and smiled at Meredith. They began to talk about life at the hospital, and how Meredith had liked Dartmouth until the French patio doors opened, and the little blonde head of Lizzie appeared, and flung herself into her mother's lap.

"What's up, baby?"

"Can I have a breath?" Daphne dug into her purse and grabbed an inhaler, which Lizzie then opened and took a dosage from.

"Lizzie has acute asthma. And a special heart. She was born almost two months premature, and she was a high risk pregnancy because it developed ectopically at first, then moved into a safer part of the uterus."

Meredith watched the mother and daughter interact, until Lizzie noticed Derek standing and immediately requested 'up'. For a five year old, she was quite small, though her vocabulary was developed and mature. Derek picked her up and talked with her while Tom, Daphne and Meredith continued chatting, then took her inside when Meg announced that the pizza had arrived. All the children were served and sent back down to the den to watch whatever Disney movie Meg had put on, so the adults served themselves the salads and more wine as they scattered the main floor. Francesca and Casey were back down, Casey talking with her mother, and Francesca sitting with Meredith.

"I have to admit, I was completely curious about you. I've heard a lot from Meg, but Casey has wanted to meet you for a while. Since Derek moved out here, I guess."

"It's been a pretty nutty ride. I live in a house of doctors- all of us interns, and people are always coming and going and in surgery."

"It sounds tiring."

"It is. But I love it."

Francesca had changed into a pair of jeans and a tank top, with her glorious, curly hair pulled into a low ponytail towards the side of her head, so it draped over her shoulder. Casey eventually came over to join them, but she had changed into jeans and a Yale Law shirt. Francesca rolled her eyes and leaned in to Meredith.

"Casey went to Yale for law, and Nancy went to Harvard, so they always argue about it. And they try to bait each other. You should see them during a game weekend."

Meredith laughed, and watched as Andy put a cd in the system, letting the notes of Frank Sinatra hum throughout the living room and kitchen. Derek walked over with two plates of pizza, and Daphne joined them just moments after that, sans Lizzie who had gone downstairs with the rest of the children. Together, they began to eat and talk, and Meredith felt totally at ease between the two shepherd sisters, and their significant others.

Please please please review!! I'm going to get another chapter up in days, I promise!


	23. Poolside Fun

After dinner, the kids watched another Disney movie, while the adults sat around with wine, talking with each other. Meredith talked for some length with Kathleen about her childhood, and about what it was like working with Derek at the hospital. She was glad that Kathleen was so welcoming, and even found herself liking Harrison a great deal. He enjoyed playing with the children, and was attentive to his wife, if not extremely intimidating at first.

After a while, however, everybody seemed to be exhausted from the traveling and children and general mayhem, so they retired for the evening, and Derek and Meredith went back home. Derek immediately went for another shower- Lizzie had accidentally spilled her milk on him- and Meredith went downstairs to hang out with Izzy and Alex. Izzy was painting her toenails, and Alex was playing Nintendo.

"So. How was it? You and the family?"

"It was fine, but guess what? It wasn't just Daphne and her family."

"Did she have some friends over? Why weren't we invited?"

"Izzy, the entire Shepherd family was there."

Izzy's eyes went wide.

"_All _of them?"

"Yeah."

"Doesn't he have like, four sisters?"

"Yep."

"Holy Crap. And their families?"

"_And_ his parents."

"Woah. Why didn't he tell you."

"He didn't know. Nobody knew. When Daphne was on the phone with her mother last night, she mentioned that she was coming, and Derek's oldest sister was there as well, so they decided the whole family should fly out to visit."

"Dude, that's _crazy_."

Izzy waved at Alex to be quiet, and he rolled his eyes. Then he turned off the Nintendo and looked at Meredith questioningly.

"Well? What were they like?"

"The parents were nice. His mom was really…sweet, and his dad is intimidating like Mark was intimidating, but without all the hitting on me."

"And the siblings?"

"Daphne and her husband are really, really nice. And their kids are cute. And his youngest sister, Casey, she's really sweet as well, as is her girlfriend Francesca. But his other sisters are kind of…different."

"They're bitches?"

"Ah…yeah."

"It  was bound to happen. You said the other two were nice."

"Yeah. I mean, really. Casey and Daphne are great. And Tom, Daphne's husband was really nice. They were high school sweethearts. Well, they were like, little kid neighborhood sweethearts, I guess. And Lizzie is even cuter in person than she is on the fridge."

Derek had stuck a picture of Lizzie and Josh on the fridge after Daphne sent him the newest pictures.

"She _is_ very cute."

"She looks like that one kid. The singing dancing one."

Both of the women looked at Alex.

"You know. She's like, dead now or something."

"Shirley Temple?"

"Yeah. Her."

Izzy nodded thoughtfully. "She does. A lot actually. He's right."

"Anyway. Meg came home and found everybody there. So Andy ordered pizza and the kids are sleeping in the playroom, while the adults are in the bedrooms."

"Well, I guess they were right in buying such a big house."

"I still don't understand how they can afford it."

"Alex, she's worth a lot of money."

"Still, though, she's only nineteen. It's just weird."

"I think they have a contract with Addidas that helped them out with this. There's actually a lot riding on her going to the Olympics. If she gets first through third, she's excused from the IFSA, so she can do advertisements."

"So we'll get to see her on a Wheaties box?"

"Hopefully."

"So what are you guys doing tomorrow?"

"Well, you two are invited over for dinner, and Meg is going to call Mark and Addison, and she's going to cook."

"Yes. It's been a week since she's made a full dinner. I love it when she cooks."

"All you think about is your stomach."

"I think about other things. I think about you."

Izzy's face softened. "That was sweet, Alex."

"Naked."

He grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes. Meredith just smiled, watching the two of them. The past few weeks had seen their relationship solidify; they were all but officially together. Since George and Callie were trying to have a baby, and Meredith and Derek were always together, Alex and Izzie had spent their time almost exclusively together.

They hung out during work, and after work they frequented bookstores and coffee shops, getting to know each other even more, if that was possible. They talked at length about their childhoods, often talking about Hannah or Alex's abusive father, and even about their college years. Meredith was happy to see Izzy so happy, especially after everything that had transpired with Denny.

"So you guys are good for dinner? Six o'clock?"

"Sounds great."

"We're going to go over in the morning, but Meg wanted you to know that she has some new wine for us to try with dinner."

"That sounds good. Meg always has fabulous wine."

"I know. She's been in Seattle less than everyone, and she already knows every single out of the way shop. Plus she's not even twenty one. So she sends Andy back with a list of what to buy."

"Well, she has a lot of free time. I mean, she practices a lot, but she does stuff too. I keep meaning to go to that yoga class with her."

"I know. I wanted to try it too."

"No offense Mere, but you're not the yoga kind of girl."

It was true, so Meredith let Alex's jibe go. She stayed downstairs and made small talk with the two for a little while, and then went upstairs to join Derek in bed. Changing quickly, and attending to all the bathroom routines, she joined him under the covers, with only the moonlight illuminating the room.

"So, you've met my parents."

"I have. I liked them."

"Even my father?"

"Yes! He was really nice to me. Why?"

Derek just shook his head, pulling her into his shoulder, and tucking one hand behind his own head.

"My Dad has always been just a little bit rough on the outsides. He's gotten a lot…softer, since Meg was born and he became older, but he was always kind of…aloof. I mean, he supported us no matter what, but it was difficult for him to really be emotionally connected. My grandfather was awful- verbally abusive, totally controlling; he wasn't a real father. And I think that my dad was afraid because of it. he didn't really have a great model, so it was difficult sometimes. But he was there for everything, you know? All my band competitions, all of the debates and Casey's soccer matches, every basketball game that Janna and Nancy had."

"But he's better at it now."

"Yeah. He is. He's a wonderful grandfather. Meg brought a lot of emotion out of him. They're really close."

"Well, I like your family?"

"Even Janna and Nancy?"

"They were…polite."

"They were cold. They're always cold. I love them- they're my sisters, but they've always been concerned with the wrong things in life."

"So what Daphne said about them making Casey uncomfortable…"

"They made Casey's life a living hell. When they were in high school they were always telling her that she needed to be better at everything. They just belittled her."

"And now she has Francesca."

"Yes. And Casey and Daphne love you. You have the vote of the people that matter."

"So. Mark, Addison and your whole family?"

"Yeah. That's going to be awkward. Guess who'll be causing the trouble."

"You never know. They might all behave themselves."

Derek just shook his head and pulled Meredith closer, drifting off into dreamland.

--

The next morning, Meg woke up early, and went for her customary run. By seven o'clock, she was back at the house, and jumped in for a shower. To her great surprise, Andy joined her, and they were a little bit later in leaving the house than she anticipated!

Together, they drove to the grocery store, taking Andy's Pilot. Grocery shopping was something they liked to do together, usually on Saturday mornings. Meg was planning a huge dinner, both for the adults, and something the kids would appreciate.

They walked through the aisles, randomly picking up the food they needed for the week, as well as following the recipe's that Meg had written out for that evening. She had decided to make macaroni and cheese for the kids; five kinds of cheese and sour cream, baked and seasoned, as well as a strawberry salad. For the adults, she had planned a marinated chicken breast in a honey spinach sauce, a turkey glazed with an Italian mix, all kinds of sides, and for dessert she wanted to serve Panna Cotta. Andy was going to be in charge of taking care of everybody, and keeping everybody out of her way.

As they shopped, they teased and ribbed each other, stealing kisses and hugs.

"Can you believe my family? All of them flying out here."

"Well, I think Janna said that you wanted to see everybody. Casey felt awful."

"I love that they all came to visit, but some notice would have been nice…I guess it was as good a time as any for Meredith to meet the family."

"Grandma really took to her. So did Nonno, actually."

Andy stopped looking at the grain rice that he was deciding between and turned to her.

"Why do you call him Nonno? You've never really told me?"

Meg thought for a second.

"I've always called him that. His side is Italian, and I think that's what he called his grandfather when he was little. I know it means grandfather in Italian. My grandmother just referred to him as that when I was little."

"I was just wondering."

She smiled, and continued to look over the types of rice that the store had. She looked a little hippie, with light blue jeans and a white flowey shirt that had the hippie sleeves and  a square neck, and her hair flowing curly with a black headband. Andy had dressed in his favorite jeans, flip flops and a dark green polo collard shirt. The two of them made an adorable couple.

Shopping took them the better part of an hour, and they stopped at a bakery on the way home to pick up some Danishes. Once they got back, Andy unloaded everything and put it away, while Meg began to make breakfast. She scrambled about a dozen eggs, made sausage links, bacon, French toast and pancakes, and put everything on the table just as the children began to race downstairs.

"Meggie!"

It was Lizzie in the lead, and she climbed onto a chair at the kitchen table.

"Good morning. Who wants pancakes?"

About eight hands went up, and Andy laughed as he began to make plates for all the kids, putting syrup on and pouring milk. Eventually all the kids were served and began to eat, all the while asking if they could go for a swim in the pool.

"I tell you what. Once all of your mommies get up, you guys can take it up with them? And if they say yes, you can swim all day if you want."

"Yay!"

There was a general mass shout, and the excitement level rose as the children happily wolfed down their food. Lizzie, being the youngest, had her pancakes cut by Andy, and ate slowly, putting piece by piece in her mouth. Twenty minutes later, the adults began to come downstairs, beginning with Kathleen and Harrison, both dressed in jeans. They too began to eat, thanking Meg for making breakfast.

"No problem. I hardly ever get to make a big breakfast, so it's a welcome change."

Nancy and her husband came down next, fully dressed in casual pants and nice shirts, greeting their children good morning. Janna was down after that, also fully dressed, showered, and made up. Immediately upon arrival to the kitchen, the sisters began to reprimand their children on brushing their teeth and showering and making them go upstairs to change.

Next came Casey and Francesca, both in pajama pants and tank tops, with Casey wearing fuzzy blue slippers. Francesca had her curly hair in a low ponytail, while Casey's was pulled into a messy, haphazard bun.

"Good morning. Meg, this smells delicious…Thanks, Andy."

He poured her a cup of coffee, and handed Francesca a cup of tea as the two women served themselves and sat down.

"Is Daph up yet?"

"Not quite. I heard her in the shower, though."

"Singing?"

"Of course." Casey grimaced. "I'm so happy we no longer share a bathroom."

"You know, Casey, you were never gifted with an opera singer's pipes either."

Kathleen grinned at her youngest daughter, who just rolled her eyes and drank her coffee.

"Thank you, mom."

"Well, you should be nice to your sister. Just think. Your father and I had to sit through all of her concerts and recitals."

"Well, if I remember correctly, you dragged me along as well."

Everybody laughed, including Janna and Nancy, who had served themselves already. Daphne came down moments after Casey, showered, but wearing a blue jean skirt and a red halter top.

"Hot mamma!"

She posed for Casey who cheered her on and winked, then went to get food.

"Good Morning Andrew."

"Good Morning, Daphne."

"Coffee?"

"I think I'll take tea, actually."

He poured her a cup from the kettle on the stove, and she sat down with a huge plate. After Daphne had served herself, Meg finally made herself a plate, minus most of the fatty breakfast foods, and poured herself some ice cold orange juice. Andy followed suit, leaving the food in the warming drawer for Tom and Meredith and Derek.

The couple arrived fifteen minutes after Tom had emerged, both bearing a bag for swimsuits.

"We're swimming, right? That's what I was told by one of my nieces yesterday."

Meg nodded.

"If somebody will either get in the pool with them or watch them, then they can swim to their heart's content."

"Meredith and I will definitely get in the pool."

"Yeah, we'll join you guys," Casey added, exchanging a look of approval with Francesca.

Daphne sighed. "I think I'll sit on the deck and read. Keep track of all of you."

"Good job Daph. Way to be the authority figure."

"Thanks Big Brother. I try."

"Meg, I think your grandmother and I will go for a walk. Take a look at that park you told us about."

"Sure. It's just down the street."

The grandparents left for their walk, and Meredith and Derek each ate a little bit before going to the bathroom to change into their swimsuits, while each mother tried to situate their children in swimsuits, sun block, and floaties, when they were necessary. Eventually they all met outside, and began splashing around the pool.

Meredith was standing by the edge, about to jump in when she felt a little person by her leg. She looked down and saw Lizzie standing there in her Disney princess swimsuit, pink floaties on her arm, looking a little bit nervous. Meredith had on a black one piece that was a classic, yet very sexy cut, and large sunglasses.

"Are you scared?"

The young girl nodded, looking sad.

"Do you want to come in with me?"

Immediately, her face brightened, and she turned to Meredith and held her arms up. Meredith bent down and picked her up, settling her on her hip. Then, she slowly waded into the pool, down the palatial steps that led to waist deep water. Lizzie shrieked a little when her bottom hit the water because it was a little cold ( but lovely in the hot September day), and they both laughed. The young girl was completely at ease with Meredith, and held onto her as she moved towards Derek.

"Well, look who we've got here!"

"Hi Uncle Derek."

She waved at Derek, but continued to hold onto Meredith, who slowly bounced her in and out of the water. Eventually, they waded in farther, and Lizzie allowed herself to be submerged for a few moments at a time, though her floating devices kept her arms above water. After fifteen minutes or so, she would allow Meredith to hold her out and let her float while she kicked her legs, and eventually she paddled around by herself, with all of the adults keeping a close watch. Daphne was sitting on the deck, and though she had a book in her hand, every time Meredith looked up at her, Daphne's eyes were following her young daughter around the pool. Casey and Francesca were also splashing around, playing with the children and shrieking with laughter as well. From the kitchen, Meg laughed at the scene in the pool, with 10 floatation devises, children yelling, and people splashing around.

She began to attend to the turkey, cleaning it, dressing it, putting it in the oven to pre-brown. She began chopping vegetables and peeling potatoes and generally beginning to cook for dinner. Andy had decided to grill for lunch as well as make sandwiches, so he marinated some chicken and got hot dogs ready to grill.

A couple hours later, the kids were hungry from their poolside antics, and everybody ate a leisurely lunch, then returned to the pool. Eventually, Meredith and Casey got out, while Derek, Francesca and Tom stayed in the pool with the kids. They dried off and sat around the island, watching Meg slice and dice and do general cook-ery stuff. While they peeled potatoes or shredded carrots for her, they began to chat about life in general.

"So do you still have really long hours?"

Casey nodded and poured herself some more lemonade.

"They aren't as bad as they used to be, and now that I'm no longer a newer junior partner, I can take a lot of the work home. Which is nice, especially because Francesca has such flexible hours."

"Does she?"

"Yes. A lot of what she does is just calling and making arrangements and double checking. It's a lot of work, but most of it is on the phone."

"Do either of you have to travel?"

"I don't do it very often, only three times a year or so, but Francesca is out of town all the time. She has to meet clients and all that, but I'm mostly in court."

Meredith nodded, trading Meg the platter of grated carrots for a bowl of potatoes needing to be peeled.

"You're in environmental law?"

"Yep. I deal with challenges on behalf of interest groups or individual claims against companies about environmental practices. Occasionally I'll deal with a government action on environmental protection laws, but mostly it's just the civil court."

"Do you like it?"

"I really love it. I've always been passionate about the environment, and I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, so it was great for me. I also broke into the market at a time when environmental law was just starting to be a big thing, so it's pretty lucky for me. What about you? Have you chosen your specialty yet?"

"I don't know. I'm thinking neurosurgery, but I might be a general practicing surgeon."

"You still have a little bit of time, right?"

"Yeah- another couple months or so."

"Casey? Can you chop up this celery for me?"

Meg gave Casey a cutting board full of celery, and took a bowel to the island to stand by them while they all chatted. As Meredith and Casey were busy with menial tasks, Meg was measuring out teaspoons and tablespoons of about twenty ingredients, stirring in all kinds of liquids, and constantly stirring the bowl.

"Sure thing, Meggie. How have practices been going?"

"Pretty good. I've mostly been preparing for the Moscow Workshop, doing technical stuff, trying to get back into shape."

Meredith's eyebrows shot up.

"You? Not in shape?"

"Oh, Meredith. You have so much to learn. Just wait till I come back from Moscow. I look like a lazy lump right now, compared to what I'll be like then."

"How much more could you possibly do?"

"Oh, they'll have us out on the ice for five to six hours a day, and four hours in the gym. Literally. I'll go through two leotards a day, because they get so sweat soaked."

"Wow. That's intense."

"Yeah. It sucks. It's like boot camp. Or hell. Like a mixture of both."

"Where do you stay?"

"I share an apartment with three other girls. It's owned by the skate club and we just pay a reduced rate year round and only use it for about four months out of the whole year. It's pretty dismal."

She continued to add and stir in spices, then put a cd into the system, and the sounds of a soft jazz album filtered through. After breakfast she had changed her white peasant/hippie top for a black tank-blouse, and the wavy hair for a loose ponytail. She continued to cook like a fiend, turning Kathleen out of the kitchen when the adorable old woman tried to help/interfere, and keeping Meredith and Casey as her helpers.

"So. When is Andy going to pop the question?"

"_Casey_!" The blond just grinned and traded knowing glances with Meredith. Meg had moved onto the stove, keeping track of four pots at once, and had put the women on cheese grating duty.

"What? Everybody expects an announcement soon."

"I'm only nineteen."

"And here you are, shacked up in this fabulous house with your boyfriend."

Meg just smiled, and stuck a casserole dish in the oven.

"Andy and I are happy. Exceptionally happy. Why change that?"

"No reason. I was just curious. Also, why are we grating cheese when you can _buy_ grated cheese?"

"Because that's a special cheese from Chile- it doesn't come grated. Also, pre grated cheese has chemicals in it to stop it from melting together. I wanted freshly grated cheese."

Casey rolled her eyes, but continued to grate. Meg pulled out another bowl from a cabinet and emptied another bowl of grated cheese into it. After that she whipped some eggs, poured them over the cheese, and emptied the entire contents of a sour cream container.

"Come on, Casey, grate faster."

"Look, I'm done. Here."

She handed over the grated cheese from Chile, and Meg poured it in. After stirring in the boiled macaroni noodles she poured everything into a casserole dish and took the last two blocks of cheese, slicing them incredibly thinly. They were layered on top of everything else, and then brushed with butter and sprinkled with feta.        

"Where did you get that recipe? It can't be one of Mom's?"

Meg shrugged. "It's one of my own. I've been experimenting lately."

She went on to the other dishes, leaving Casey and Meredith looking appreciatively at the macaroni and cheese, and wishing they would be able to eat at the kids table.

Eventually the kids trudged in, exhausted, and Andy set them up with a Disney movie in the playroom while the mothers saw to showers and clean clothes. Meg continued to cook while the people around her hung out and wandered around. Dinner was to be served at six, and around five, Meg finished up with the cooking. Andy helped her to put everything in the warming drawers, and brought up all the wine.

"The Velvet Red as well?"

Meg nodded as she finished chopping some vegetables for the tossed salad.

"Yes. It'll be perfect with the desserts."

"What time are Mark and Addison getting here?"

Meg was so immersed in cutting up the vegetables that she completely missed the look that Nancy and Janna sent each other from the living room.

"Around six. So we'll eat when they get here."

Nancy wandered into the kitchen.

"You invited Mark and Addison?"

"Yeah, they actually live just around the corner. That big blue house two streets over. It's absolutely beautiful- Addison and I have been trying to decorate it."

Andy came up behind Meg and put a hand on either side of her on the counter. He kissed her cheek and smiled as she giggled.

"Why don't you go shower and change, hmm? I'll set the table."

He had already showered and dressed in black pants and a dark red button up, and Meg nodded as she finished up the salad and kissed him back.

"Alright. I'll be quick."

"You have an hour, take your time."

Meredith and Derek had used the same bathroom that Daphne and Tom were assigned, and they passed Meg on their way down, assuring her that Andy had set them up with fresh towels and shampoo and all the necessary toiletries. Meg continued into the Master bedroom and quickly got into the shower, washing her hair from all the smells of the cooking and heat from the stove. Then she dried off and applied make up, some hair curling spray, and put on a dark summer dress. She also slipped into a pair of heels, and perfumed, then made her way back downstairs.

Just as she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, the doorbell rang, and she answered it to find Mark and Addison on the other side. Mark looked devastatingly handsome, as usual, while Addison looked gorgeous, _as usual_.

"Hello! Come on in! Thanks for coming!"

Addison looked a bit nervous, but Mark grinned broadly and nudged his girlfriend into the house.

"Of course, Meggie. We always come for your food, don't we?"

Addison handed Meg a bouquet of huge sunflowers, knowing they were one of Meg's favorites.

"We thought that you would have every possible side or dessert, so we brought the centerpiece."

Meg laughed.

"Thank You- they're lovely. Everybody's out back."

Mark went first, and Meg linked arms with Addison.

"So they all just showed up."

"Yep. I just about fainted when I saw everybody."

They walked into the living room/kitchen, and there was a general uproar as Casey, Daphne and their respective partners rushed for Mark and Addison. Meg saw that Alex and Izzie had already arrived and went to greet them while Mark greeted Daphne and Casey.

"Daphne, I swear you've gotten hotter with motherhood."

Mark engulfed Daphne into a bear hug and literally lifted her off the ground, making a big show of kissing both her cheeks. When Daphne was put on the ground to hug Addison, he warmly embraced Tom in a hug. Casey then gave Mark a big hug, and he kissed her cheeks with brotherly affection.

"How you doin, Blondie?"

"It's good to see you, Mark!"

Addison also hugged Tom, Casey and Francesca warmly, linking arms with Casey. When Francesca walked up to Mark, he made a deep bow, exclaiming "Frannie!" in a mock serious voice.

"You're looking good, Mark. Seattle agrees with you."

"It's all the rain. Good for the complexion."

Kathleen and Harrison also stepped up, hugging Mark and Addison like long away children.

"Mark, you need to eat more."

"Mom, if I eat any more of Meg's cooking, I'm going to need plastic surgery on myself."

Long ago, Mark had started calling Kathleen and Harrison Mom and Dad Shepherd. They had always loved him like a son, so it had really solidified Mark's acceptance into the family.

"And Addison. I swear I'm always amazed how you can get more beautiful. I never think it's possible."

Janna and Nancy stayed away, but Lizzie and Josh ran up to the new couple, with Lizzie running right into Mark's waiting arms, while Josh went to hug "Aunt Addison."

"Hello, Princess."

"Hi, Uncle Mark."

Meg went to stand with Andy, but then glanced at the clock.

"Okay, seriously, I've been cooking all day and I'm starving, so let's eat. We've set up another table in the dining room for the kids."

Everybody followed her into the dining room, where Andy had lit candles and set all the food out. They all stood around the table and held hands, while Kathleen said grace. Then, they set up the children at the smaller table, and served them, and sat down to dinner. Everybody began exclaiming at the food, and eating, talking amongst themselves.

Mark nodded appreciatively at Meg. "It's delicious Meggie. As per usual."

Addison agreed, and Meg beamed.

Nancy raised an eyebrow and looked at Addison and Mark.

"So when did you guys move into the neighborhood?"

Addison smiled, and her fingers grazed Mark's. "Just a few weeks ago. We're still unpacking and trying to decorate and everything."

Janna gave them an insincere smile. "And you come over for dinner often?"

"Yeah. A couple times a week, either one or both of us depending on our schedules."

"And that isn't awkward since you cheated on your husband by screwing his best friend, and now you're having dinner with his daughter."

There was complete silence at the table, since nobody could believe that Nancy had actually said that. After that moment, Harrison and Derek began to yell at Nancy as Mark looked at his plate and Addison shrank back. Meg, however, stood up and banged her wine glass so hard on the table that Andy was surprised it didn't break. The whole table turned silent and looked at her.

"Every single person sitting at this table is family. And if anybody has a problem with that, they're welcome to leave."

There was complete silence for another moment, before she sat down and continued to eat. Andy smiled into his food, and Addison smiled at Mark as conversation slowly began. The food was delicious, and everybody ate till they were completely stuffed. Afterwards, they wandered onto the deck and yard to enjoy the weather and watch the kids run around. Derek, Casey and Daphne took to the Deck chairs with their respective others and Mark, Addison and Meg joined them. Andy stayed inside to get all the dishes washed and soaking, or loaded into the dishwasher, and Meg brought an new bottle of wine with her as she stepped onto the porch.

"Meg, I know I've said it a hundred times today, but this house is absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you, thank you."

Mark slipped onto a chair, and wrapped his arm around Addison as he pulled her onto his lap. Meredith sat in the same way on Derek's lap, and Casey had an arm on Francesca's knee, lightly tracing circles with her fingertips.

"Where's Andy?"

"Washing up. I do all the cooking, he does all the cleaning up afterwards."

"Good deal."

"Yeah, it is."

Addison had some more wine, and snuggled more deeply onto Mark's lap. He held her tightly and kissed her neck, just under her ear. The past few weeks had been fabulous for the two of them. After purchasing the house on Mayberry Lane, they had slowly begun to furnish it. Addison had the entire thing painted and was slowly filling it up with stuff that made a home. Things at the hospital were busier than ever, but she and Mark were making time for each other. It was amazing what could be done when both parties were totally committed to the relationship. He brought home flowers, she watched the games with him, they made it a point to eat as many meals together as possible- even if it was an apple in the hospital hallway. They also made sure to hang out often with friends, putting together a complete life.

Meg smiled at her family, also sipping her wine. Andy eventually made his way out to the deck, and put his arms around Meg, kissing the top of her head.

"Did you tell them about Christmas?"

Meg shook her head and addressed Casey and Francesca.

"We're going to do Christmas in New York around the 16th of December, right after the Holiday Spectacular. Andy and I want to have our first Christmas here. So we talked to Grandma and we're all going to celebrate early. And Meredith and Dad have agreed to come out with us. It'll be great."

"That will be nice…Christmas seems so far away right now."

"I know. I have this stupid month of training before I can even think about it."

Meg tried not to let the thoughts of the upcoming workshop darken her mood, but she couldn't stop the sadness from wiping over her face.

"Hey. It'll be over before we know it, and then  you'll never have to do it again."

"I know. It'll be one month of solid hell though. And it'll be getting cold in Moscow."

Francesca smiled sympathetically, and Meg returned a smile.

"I'm just being a baby. It's been so nice to have been here uninterrupted for months. Getting the house all done was so much fun."

"Well, it looks fantastic."

"Addison has been doing her house as well. We picked out colors and they had every room painted."

Casey grinned at Addison.

"I had a sudden image of you  painting a house."

"If you remember, I helped you paint that first god awful apartment the two of you lived in."

The blonde laughed.

"I know- that's why it's so funny- it's an actual memory!"

They continued to make small talk and enjoy dessert, then put the children to bed and continue to hang out.  Eventually, around midnight, everybody retired or left, and Meg slowly loaded the dishwasher with all the dessert plates.

"I'm actually happy they came. It was nice to see Casey and Fran and Grandma and Nonno."

Andy smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Of course you are. They're your family. It was a fun weekend."

They all left the next morning- Derek , Meredith, Andy, and Meg drove everybody to the airport and put them on the planes, then went out for coffee. After that, Meg began to pack for the trip to Moscow; pulling out her suitcase and finding all of her practice clothes that would be appropriate. She and Andy spent every moment available to them before she had to leave, both knowing the next month would be hell.


	24. To Russia With Love

Okay, here it is. Please review!

I've decided that to fit the story, the girls will be training for the Torino Olympics.

--

Meg left on a Friday morning. Andy dropped her off at the airport, and kissed her goodbye. He sat in the terminal, watching as the plane departed, before heading to work. At the hospital, everybody looked at him sympathetically, but he ignored the blatantly sad looks, and continued about his business. Since Meg was gone, his schedule adjusted to make up for all the nights he hadn't been on call, and he switched with Izzy, Meredith and Alex to take up as many of their nights as possible. That day, Bailey sent him to work in the pit since he would be 'distracted', and he did it without complaint. He stayed on call that night, and monitored patients, then worked the next day under Callie, who had him resetting bones for most of the morning.

So, life began to develop a pattern. He worked every waking minute, and then went home to collapse. Meg was six hours ahead of him, so they tried to talk on the phone, but they e-mailed every chance they got, and sent im's and text messages throughout their days.

Andy realized that he had really forgotten what life without Meg was like. Before, he was used to her always jetting off to Russia or Switzerland, and adjusted his schedule as best he could around hers. He had also been living in the Crew House at Brookings, and so he was used to being constantly around people. In Seattle, she was a deep part of his everyday life, and having her gone put a big void in his routines. He did commit himself to keeping the house spotless, as she had, and continued his habit of buying flowers every couple days. When she had been gone for five days, he took her perfume, and put a few sprays on his pillow and over the bed, as well as on the flowers in the kitchen and living room. So it continued to smell like her, but the vanilla smell from the soap she used was absent.

Everybody tried to help him out and be social with him, but most of them were all wrapped up in their own relationships. Meredith and Derek were moving forward on the house, and had already broken ground. Izzy and Alex spent every available moment together, doing coupley things. They made a concerted effort to hang out outside the hospital and the house; going to coffee shops, bookstores, seeing movies. They seemed to be extremely happy, and loving every moment of being together. Even Mark and Addison were like the couple from happy-hell. They were really doing the house up; buying big furniture pieces (Addison bought an entire dining room set on a _whim_), and looking for ways to make the house a home. But a couple evenings during the week, they came over and Andy taught Addison to really grill.

Other than that, however, he kept to himself. Once or twice, he caught lunch on the weekends at Casa de Intern, but mostly he just slept and worked.

Andy's lifestyle in Seattle was positively restful compared to what Meg was going through. She arrived in Moscow on Monday morning, due to a long layover in Chicago, and extremely delayed flight in Copenhagen. From the airport, she and Pavel were taxied straight to the ice arena in downtown Moscow. Like most ice skaters, Meg always carried her skates with her. They were never checked, never taken away, and never taken out of her sight. Since she always traveled first class, or at least business class, she didn't have to worry about having too big of a bag; the Adiddas sport bag carried everything she needed; the skates, a leotard, tights, hairbrush, hair ties, sweat guards and fresh underwear.

At the arena, she immediately went into the locker room to change and stretch, putting on the black standard unitard that had long legs, and spending almost twenty minutes stretching out her body. Then, she laced up her skates, and put on the flatbeds, then made her way to the ice. As she walked out, she could see the rest of the girls who were also 'students' at the skating school, who had been asked to take part in the workshop. There were nine of them, and they had all been skating together for years. Meg took the flat beds off, and got onto the ice, making a slow circle around the rink. Pavel had already gathered with the rest of the coaches, but kept an eye on Meg as she began her warm up routine, getting her body accustomed to jumping and footwork techniques.

Ten minutes later, Olanof Grenivic, the head of the skating cub, blew his whistle, and all the girls went to where he was standing on the ice. They lined up, as they always had, and waited. First in line was Maria Noreweil, a Czech skater who trained year round in Moscow. Next was Amilee Moliel (French), Kiersten Grinkolov (Ukrainian), Lissa Valdega (Italian), Melinda Fairchild (English), Rebekkah Hass (German), Tanya Leheringolof (Ukranian), Nola Dolof, and Serina Breiznehv, both Russians. Meg shared the apartment with Amilee, Lissa and Tanya, and while she liked two of the girls extremely well, Tanya Leheringolof was a nasty piece of work. Nobody in the entire skating world liked her, and she was known for her bitchiness.

In Russian, Olanof began his opening speech.

"We are here for intensive workshop. The next four weeks will be hard, to prepare you for Olympics. We have special coaches coming in, tomorrow we begin with Ana Kyvratenoloski. Now. Let us start with combinations."

He directed them to the other end, and called out combinations as they were to do them one by one. Meg tried to get into a focused zone, but she kept thinking about the woman who would arrive the next day to coach. Ana Kyratenoloski was a big time Russian skater who coached occasionally. She was the hardest coach that Meg had ever heard of, and she often guest coached with the Russian skating club. She had always had a particular hatred of Americans (she was an old cold war era woman), and had especially despised Meg. Ana never missed an opportunity to embarrass, ridicule, or torture Meg. There was no doubt that the following few weeks were going to suck.

After several hours on the ice, going through jumps and doing combination after combination, the girls were sent to the weight room to work with trainers. They were put through extremely difficult workouts, until they couldn't lift or push any more, before being sent home. Meg caught a cab with Amilee and Lissa, and they made conversation as they were driven to their apartment.

They were sweet girls, and Meg had missed them. They had all been 'students' of the Moscow school (just a training program, really) for years, and therefore all spoke fluent Russian.

Amilee was also a member of the skating club in Zurich, and she and Meg shared an apartment there as well. The French girl was extremely sweet natured, with light golden hair, and soft features. She and Meg had were extremely good friends, and had often traveled together with their coaches to and from competitions.

"So. How does it feel to be back in Moscow?"

Meg gave a laugh.

"Fucking cold."

The three of them laughed, since the temperature was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which was positively warm, considering how cold it could get in February.

"And how's you dear Seattle, and your lovely house?"

Naturally, Meg had sent all of her friends pictures of the house, the garden; everything. They were all excited to eventually visit her in Seattle, and even more so to see Andy again. They had met him only a few times, but like everybody else, fell victim to his charm.

Meg's suitcase had already been delivered to the apartment by one of the people who worked for the program, so she only had her sport bag, sitting on her lap as she gazed out the window at Moscow.

Everything whizzed by, and in no time at all, they arrived outside their apartment building. It was a semi new building, so it wasn't an ancient Russian structure, but it looked like it had seen its fair share of wear and tear. They grabbed their stuff, paid the driver (they always took turns), and unlocked the door.

The apartment was on the fifth floor, and the building (ten stories) didn't have a working elevator. So they walked up, and unlocked the apartment door. The other girls had either been in Moscow, or had arrived a few days prior, so they were all settled in. Meg, however, surveyed the place with disgust.

"Oh, how I've missed it here."

The walls were a faded (and ugly) yellow, and the kitchen joined the living room. They had a round table with four chairs in the kitchen area, and a small couch and tv in the living room, with a beat up old coffee table.

All of the girls had endorsement deals of some sort which made them lots of money, but they had all silently agreed not do anything to the apartment, because that made it more of a home. And it was definitely not a place they enjoyed being. Most of their energy was devoted to skating, and in truth, most of the time they were too tired to even think about doing work in the house other than the little cleaning.

There were two bedrooms and a small bathroom, each bedroom containing a twin bed and dresser. Meg's suitcase was just inside the door, so she wheeled it to the bedroom she shared with Amilee, and put it on the bed. The sheets were worn, but the comforter thick, and on the wall above the bed was a picture she had taped up months and months before, of her with Andy. It was faded from where the light from the window hit the wall, but the two people could be clearly made out.

"I'm in for a shower."

Amilee yelled it on her way to the bathroom, as Meg unzipped the suitcase and began to unpack all of her leotards and personal items. She had few street clothes; just two pairs of jeans and about 5 shirts, since she was constantly in work out clothes.

After Maria was done, Lissa went in, while Amilee began to cook dinner. Most evenings the girls cooked together, though cooking was a loose term. On a bad day they would make Ramen, while on a good day they would experiment with different types of stew. They often got Indian food in cooking boxes or packets to be eaten with rice, since it would fill them up, and they had no need to watch calories.

While Lissa was still in the shower, the front door opened again, and Tanya walked in. She barely glanced at Amilee as she went to her room, and closed the door. Tanya usually made some sort of microwaved meal, and ate in the room, while Meg, Amilee and Lissa hung around the living room, watching Russian TV and playing cards.

Before Lissa had the door all the way open, Meg was standing outside the bathroom so she could shower quickly, since Tanya had no reservations about taking half an hour or longer and using up all the hot water.

After showering, Meg put on sweat pants and a baseball tshirt, then went to the kitchen, where Amilee was stirring a pot, and Lissa was chopping carrots for a salad. Meg began to do the same with cucumber, and the three began chatting and laughing.

"So, do you cook all the time now? The kitchen looked fabulous in the pictures."

She laughed, and nodded. "I cook an awful lot. It's really nice to be able to do it whenever I want to. And my training complex is only fifteen minutes away, so I can go in early in the morning and be finished by early afternoon."

"Does being done with school make it so much better?"

"Oh yeah. I have so much more free time…you guys have to come to Seattle. I love it. You can come and see the house and we can hang out for a week or a weekend or whatever. There's a lot to do."

Lissa smiled, and nodded. She had lived most of her life in Moscow, but had recently moved to Rome when she transferred coaches (her old one had retired). She was not quite as close to Amilee or Meg as they were to each other, but considered them some of her best friends all the same.

"As soon as the Olympics are over, we'll come out for a visit."

"That would be awesome."

"So. Day 1 done, only like twenty-nine more to go."

"And tomorrow starts the real fun."

Meg laughed.

"Maybe Ana will be happy to see us?"

"Yeah, Megs. Maybe she'll be happy to see us."

They all giggled and continued to attend to dinner, until Tanya walked out of her room and into the kitchen. She was also wearing sweats, with her hair piled messily on her head. At the apartment, none of them stood on ceremony.

"So. Meg. How's it to be back in Moscow? Missing the Andy already?"

Meg just rolled her eyes. Tanya always went after the weakest spot, which in Meg's case was already Andy.

"Stop attempting to play games, Tanya. What do you want?"

Tanya began to pull a microwave dinner out of the freezer.

"I'm just surprised you're here. Nobody expected you to show up."

"Is that so?"

"Well, you've been out of training for so long."

"I just changed locations. Not my training practices."

Smirking, Tanya began to prepare her dish to be microwaved. Like Amilee and Lissa, she was attractive and thin, but had a hardness to her that the other girls didn't possess. Her features were more striking than pretty, and she seemed to be more sharp than curvy. Meg secretly thought that people's body type seemed to match their personality; Lissa was frail and petite, with delicate features. Amilee was soft and curvy with style and pizzaz. And Meg liked to think she was elegant.

"That's not word on the ice."

"Well, word on the ice must have come to Russia wrong."

"It just seems a bit silly to me, really."

"What does?"

Lissa and Amilee continued to slowly chop and stir, though they were both paying rapt attention to Tanya, ready to jump in to defend Meg at any

moment.

"Well, you're attempting to try so hard. Maybe you've been practicing enough out there, but you don't seem to want it enough."

"Don't be ridiculous, Tanya. Meg wants to win just as much as we all do."

Lissa's calm words did nothing to dissipate the tension between Meg and Tanya.

"I disagree. I think that you're just here to prove a point."

"Which is?"

"That you're just the same girl you were before you gave everything up and moved to Seattle to be with your boyfriend."

"I am the same girl. I'm just happier."

"You don't have the fire anymore."

Meg rolled her eyes.

"Who even talks like that? This isn't a freaking movie."

"Exactly. You can't win at Torino. You know that. You're overweight and more importantly, you're distracted."

This time, Amilee was the one who scoffed. She turned the stove off, and turned to face Tanya.

"Please. So Meg actually looks healthy, rather than like the emaciated skeleton that you resemble. And so she actually has a boyfriend who's crazy in love with her, where as you can't keep a guy interested for more than a few dates."

"Thanks, Ames, but I don't think Tanya really cares about me. It isn't that I'm behind physically or that my routines aren't good enough, or even that I'm distracted. Tanya's just sad because she knows that win or lose in Torino, I go home to a beautiful house, and an adoring guy who only loves me for who I am. I have a life in Seattle, where as she only has her coaches criticism and her peer's disappointment to go back to if she loses. Which she probably knows she's going to."

Without further comment, Tanya grabbed her dinner from the microwave and stalked into her room, slamming the door. Meg just felt the air rush out of her, and the shaky feeling of adrenaline pouring out.

"Holy Shit that was amazing. I've never heard her told off like that. Way to go."

Amilee started to serve the stew, while Avery passed Meg the salad to serve herself.

"Just ignore her, Megs. You've just nailed her fears on the head. She doesn't have a life outside of skating. Most of us don't."

Meg smiled at Lissa and patted her hand. Unlike Amilee, the adorable blonde, Lissa was a rich honey brown with pale skin. She was exceedingly beautiful, in the little girl way, and a sweet, full smile.

"You have a life outside skating. You have a wonderful family."

Lissa's family was huge. Unlike Meg, who got all her family mass from aunts and uncles and cousins, Lissa had three older siblings, and one younger sister, all of whom still lived in Rome. They were a close bunch- not _exceedingly_ wealthy, but all of them were extremely successful. Her brother Aldo was a lawyer in one of Rome's top firms, working as a new junior partner. He also had a friend working in the firm named Amando, who was Lissa's lawyer.

Being ten years older than Lissa, Amando had always been professional in their dealings (he took care of all of her money and contracts with sports companies and athletic drinks and such), and was always conscious of Lissa's extreme shyness. Amilee and Meg were convinced that he was head over heels for Lissa, since he did everything he could to visit her as often as possible, under the guise of 'business reasons'.

"That's true. They're amazing. They love me no matter what."

"But you need a life outside your family and skating. Maybe you should call Amando."

"Stop it. I know you guys think that he's….interested, but he's just not."

Amilee sat down at the table and passed out the three bowls full of the beef stew she had cooked (under Meg's supervision and attention).

"How do you know that?"

"He's so much older."

The French girl just laughed.

"You're Italian. That doesn't matter."

"Why would you think he's interested?"

Meg and Amilee shared a look, before Meg thought of an idea.

"Here. Why don't you send him some tickets for the Concert. If he comes, then maybe that'll be a sign."

The Concert of Europe was a skating competition that took place every year, and was technically hosted by every European country, since the cost was shared. It was being held in Prague that year, at the end of the workshop for the Moscow Skating Club. Everybody would be taking part, and it was always one of the biggest events on the tour, short of the World Championships.

"I can't just send him a ticket. What will he think."

"He'll think that a beautiful woman has invited him to see her perform brilliantly."

"Just send him the ticket, Lissa. See what he does."

She looked unsure, but she nodded.

"It's going to be so embarrassing."

"We'll see."

"Okay, bitches. Eat your damn stew."

--

The next day, the girls woke up at five thirty and caught a cab to the complex. From six to seven they were taken on a long run around the riverwalk, and then given half an hour to eat breakfast. It always consisted of fruit, yogurt and granola, so as to be healthy and not to upset their stomachs during the skating. After that, they went into group combinations again, until ten am when they had some more fruit.

At eleven, Ana arrived, wearing black stretch pants with a white fur looking poncho. Meg thought that she was the picture of what Tanya would look like in her fifties. Bitchy.

"Well. We have our work cut out for us. Triple axle's. Three of them."

What an introduction. So their combinations under Ana began, and continued until noon, when they broke for lunch. After lunch, they split up. The skating complex boasted two full size ice rinks. The main one was in the dome, which could fit almost 10,000 people in the seats, while the other was a practice rink that had only a half set of bleachers for any spectators. There were four half rinks, as well as three quarter rinks, which were only used to practice technique and single contained elements such as layback spins and that sort of move. A rotation was set up, with Ana coaching on the main ice, and everybody getting equal time with her, as well as on the half and quarter ice rinks (two people shared the second full size rink). Starting the next morning at 7, Ana would see each girl for an hour. Meg was scheduled to go in the morning at 10, so she didn't have to see Ana that day. Instead, Pavel and one of the Russian Coaches took her to one of the quarter rinks, where they critiqued her sit spins. By the end of the day, the girls were all tired and they went to bed about an hour after they got home.

The next morning, Meg walked from her assigned rink to the main arena to have her one-on-one with Ana. She was wearing her black unitard that had full legs, and dropped her bag by the side of the rink entrance as she skated towards the middle.

Pavel went to sit in the arena somewhere and watch.

Ana went to the side without saying anything as she pointed her remote towards a boom box on the rim, and pressed play. Meg skated both of her routines for Ana, as best she could, then went to stand in the middle of the rink to await judgment.

Ana skated towards her, and stopped just a few feet away.

"Better than what I expected."

Meg's eyebrows shot into her hairline and it was only years of training that kept her quiet as Ana made a slow circle around her.

"How often do you train?"

"Every day."

"_Every _day_?"_

She nodded_, "_Every day."

"Are you willing to lose the weight?"

The precious fifteen pounds that Meg had put on since moving out to Seattle. Most people wouldn't have really noticed a difference, but those who loved her, and those who were in the ice skating world, were well aware.

"Yes."

"Do you want to win?"

Meg was silent for a long moment.

"I'm going to win."

"You have a confidant attitude."

"I'm _going _to win the gold medal at Torino. Whatever you think."

"Why?"

"Because I can be the best."

Ana nodded.

"I agree."

"_What?_"

At that, Meg looked at her in shock. Ana had never said one encouraging thing to Meg in her entire life, and that was probably the biggest compliment that she had ever offered to any skater.

"I believe that you have what it takes to win. If you can leave everything off the ice. Your life in Seattle, your boyfriend, your friendships and worries. It doesn't matter when you skate. Each skate is a new experience. You must learn that."

"I don't understand. You've always been…a bitch."

Ana inclined her head just a little bit.

"Because you have always been disappointing."

"Disappointing? I tried my hardest to please you. I did everything I could to be better than everyone-"

"The problem with skaters today, is that they have no concept of the future."

Meg rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for Ana to elaborate.

"It's true. You've always wanted to be the best. But I don't want skaters who only want to be better than their competition. You have to want

something different."

"Which is what?"

"To be extraordinary. To be challenged not by your peers, but by the future. To lay groundwork."

Eyebrows raised, Meg looked ahead of her as Ana skated around.

"That's bullshit."

"Why?"

"Because any decent coach would want their skaters to succeed. All you did was push me down."

"I'm not a teddy bear. Not here to give you a hug. I wanted you to be better than you wanted yourself to be. Until that happened, there was nothing I could really do for you."

"So what's changed?"

Ana shrugged as she stopped with her toe-pick.

"You're ready. At least, you can be ready. But it requires everything."

"Meaning?"

Meg had heard just about enough of the old lady's cryptic words and phrases. At least with Pavel there was no bullshit. He called her on her antics and told her what to do. Ana was usually no nonsense, but for some reason, she was enjoying torturing Meg a little more than usual.

"Meaning, if you lose the weight, and the attitude, you'll actually be in position to medal. Provided, of course, that you can continue from your Nationals."

"Don't worry about Nationals. I'm going to be on the team."

"You have the capacity to introduce a new level of skating."

"In what way?"

"With a quad."

Meg nodded slowly. She had landed about ten quad's in her life. No woman had ever landed it at the Olympics, but hey- there was a first time for everything.

"I can do that. I've just never devoted a lot of time to my quad-axle."

Ana smiled, and Meg felt her stomach drop a little bit.

"A quad combination."

And the silence was deafening. Meg uncertainly looked up at the stands, where Pavel was sitting and watching them, though he certainly couldn't hear them.

"Don't look at Pavel. This is a decision you have to make. He already believes in you."

"A quad combination?"

"Lutz, axle, toe loop."

"When?"

"The last combination of your long program."

The way it stood, Meg's last combination of the long program was a complete triple combo; triple lutz, triple axle, triple toe loop. It was a really difficult combination, but not a relatively exclusive one. At least six of the girls at the workshop were doing the same thing. Meg was actually not performing any jump throughout all of her routines that was less than a triple. In her short program she had 4 triple combinations, and the long had 3.

"It's impossible."

"It just hasn't happened yet."

Meg was fast coming around to the idea. It was a sure fire way to win. If she could actually pull it off.

"Okay. What do I do?"

"Pavel will put you on diet. High protein. But we start with the triple. Until you lose sufficient weight. We'll work on improving the jump and air that you get. Then you can start to put in the extra rotation."

--

So, Meg started serious training for the Olympics. Every minute that she and Pavel were alone was spent on preparing for the triple. She went on a liquid diet for a few days, and the weight literally melted off. There was no end to what she was putting her body through, but it wasn't the first time. After that first session with Ana, she e-mailed

Andy to tell him the news.

_To: Andy Carmichael Seattle Grace Hospital Network  
_

_From: Meg Shepherd Brookings Academy Network  
_

_Subject: OMG_

_Hey, baby. Hope your day's going well; I miss you already! So, I just had my first session with Ana and she basically told me that she's been so bitchy to me because I haven't been living up to my potential. And, it's totall bull, but maybe she is a teeny bit right. I feel more motivated now- more than I think I've been recently. But maybe that's just because it's an Olympic year. Anyway, she and Pavel have cooked up this new combination for me to do- to replace my triple at the end of the long programme. It's a complete quad combination; lutz-axle-loop. I'm super pissed they waited so long to spring it on me, but Pavel said that they waited to be sure I was ready. _

_Sometimes I hate this sport._

_It's really frustrating because I'm back at square one. Before this I just had to practice the routine for technique. But now I have to learn this and I have to lose all the weight. But I promise as soon as the Olympics are over, I'll gain it back._

_Okay- I have individual time with Pavel so I have to go._

_Love you!! Bisous_

_To: Meg Shepherd Brookings Academy Network  
_

_From: Andy Carmichael __Seattle Grace Hospital Network_

_Subject: No Subject_

_Baby, I'm sorry they sprang this on you. And that Ana's making you so miserable. But don't worry about the combo- you've always done everything you wanted to, so I'm sure this will be no different. As for the weight; I just want you healthy. But taking higher jumps with more weight to support isn't very safe, so do what you have to do. We'll adjust things when you get back. _

_Everybody misses you. I had the gutters painted in the color you wanted, even though I didn't see the difference between the 'eggshell' and the 'cloud'. Who the fuck names a paint color 'cloud', by the way?_

_Your dad says hi; he let me scrub in on a subdural hematoma today. Meredith needs you to come home because she has to pick out paint colors for the house. Maybe you can coordinate that online? Don't stress, babe. Everything will be fine._

_Bisous__.__ –A_

After reading Andy's e-mail that night, Meg felt better. She started the diet and began to get into the usual schedule. She didn't tell Amilee or Lissa about the quads; they all avoided skating talk on personal time. When they found out, they would be happy for her.

By the next morning, she was totally adjusted to the time change, and felt a lot better. Every day she worked her hardest and slowly, there was progress. She was able to get more air on her triple, which helped prepare for the quad, but also helped with all of her triple combinations. Ana was still bitchy, but in a more constructive way. Tanya continued to be totally foul, especially since it was clear that Meg was ana's new favorite- though Meg begged to differ. Luckily for Meg, the diet made life easier. She never got hungry while skating all the movement or something, but immediately after she would have a protein shake. After dinner, she would watch tv or read for a little while, and send e-mails to Meredith about the online paint samples that the older women sent her links to. Then she would climb into bed to start again the next day.

The mornings were enjoyable. Meg preferred to run in cool weather, and while she would have liked to run by herself, she appreciated the ideal weather to run in. She and Andy managed to connect on the phone almost once every day, but while Meg could push her feelings aside to skate, Andy had more time on his hands.

Sure, surgery took up time, but he did a lot of charting and that gave him ample time to think. By the time they reached the halfway mark, he was ready to tear his hair out. He saw Mark and Addison for her grilling/bbq 'lessons' twice a week and that was it. The Wii had no appeal without Meg there to jump on top of him when she was losing, so he either played on the playstation, or read. He had hauled himself off to Barnes and Noble and blown 500 on books. Already, he'd read through about 50 worth, and figured he needed to read at least 150 worth to justify all the spending. The library/study had lots of room to grow the collection, despite one of Andy's professors giving him all of his books when he had retired in may. Meg also hoarded books, though she maintained that she didn't own a book she hadn't read.

_Right._

A lot of time, when in the study, Andy found himself looking at the Austen shelf. Meg had an entire bookshelf- from floor to ceiling- that contained only books written by Jane Austen. Since the woman had only written six novels, it was quite a feat. But Meg had _so_ _many_ copies, she could practically start her own library of Austen. She had each book in every language she spoke (English, French, and Russian), a set in Spanish because Andy was fluent, and every annotated literary scholarly version on the planet. All in all, she had over sixty-one books. The entire bookshelf was capable of holding about a hundred more books, and Andy had a sinking suspicion that Meg wouldn't stop buying them till the whole damn shelf was full.

Before their move to Seattle, her collection had been dispersed throughout her many homes. Her favorite copies were kept in her dorm room, but the others were divided between her grandparents' home, her room at Derek's brownstone, and Andy's room at the crew house.

But Meg loved her books, and Andy couldn't deny her the shelf space. Several of the shelves next to it contained her other favorites; Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights (Both books had several copies in different languages), Anne of Green Gables, the entire Louisa May Alcott collection, Les Miserables, Gone with the Wind, and anything else she had loved as a child.

The collection was like a part of Meg. By picking any of the main characters, Andy could find a piece of Meg imbedded. She liked Modern fiction as well, but her heart would always belong to the classics.

While Meg was at the workshop and Andy wasn't working, he would sit for hours in the library, along with his master desk and computer. It had a beautiful leather armchair that Meg had surprised Andy with one day. He loved it. He could imagine sitting there someday and reading, while one of his children slept on his lap…

--

On Thursday night, Derek and Meredith were sitting in the living room each doing their own thing. They were snuggled together on the couch, but Derek was on his laptop, while Meredith was concentrating hard on some knitting…while concentrating on Titanic, which was playing on tv.

"This is such a ridiculous movie. Why are we watching it?"

"Because you're secretly a big softie inside? Don't feel bad. Meg loves this movie. She keeps a vhs player just for Titanic."

Meredith's brow furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"She likes it on vhs because after tape one she can just stop watching and miss the ship sinking."

"Really?"

"Really. She made us take her twice to see it in theaters…that was the first nude scene as a family."

Laughing, Meredith put her knitting down.

"What happened?"

"Addison made her cover her eyes. But we couldn't actually take her to the second time. She went with Mark. And he probably just explained everything."

They were both quiet for a moment, the movie forgotten. Derek was surprised at how much he missed Meg. She had essentially been living out of the house for almost five years, and he had thought he would be used to being away from her. The reality, however, was different. The past few months had made him used to seeing and interacting with her on a regular basis, and she had once again become part of his daily life.

For Meredith, Meg's absence was like being away from a best friend. She had gotten so close with the young girl, that they often forgot the actual relationship they had; the daughter and the step-mother figure. They shopped, they had lunch, they went to see movies together. They also included Izzy and Addison a lot of the time, since the four of them seemed to get along so well. Their newest goal was shopping for the house Derek and Meredith were building, and furnishing Addison and Mark's house. When Meg had been home, they had been going to the paint shop almost daily, occasionally dragging Derek and Mark with them, and perusing every furniture store in Seattle. Their communicating had changed to being an online e-mail thing, but Meredith was eager to have Meg back in Seattle.

"It's so weird having her gone."

"It is. I hadn't realized how weird it would be. She'll be home soon, though. And then we can all take a weekend trip to New York so you can meet the rest of the crazies."

Meredith raised her eyebrows.

"The crazies?"

Derek shrugged and smiled.

"Meg likes to call the cousins that."

"Are they scary like your sisters?"

"No. They're nothing like Janna and Nancy. They're like the trouble makers of the family. They got us into so much trouble as a kid, I can't even tell you. They're great though. My youngest cousin is like ten years older than Meg, and then the oldest one is about ten years older than I am,so there are plenty of second generations for more trouble."

"Meg actually got in trouble?"

Derek laughed.

"No. She was too much of an angel for my mom and dad to ever actually do anything that resembled discipline, but because of that, they used to have her be the point man for every operation."

They were sitting at opposite ends of the couch, Derek facing the tv, and Meredith facing Derek, with her feet over his lap. (He had put his lap top down at that point).

"You actually called them 'operations'?"

"Hell yeah. They were complicated. We had code names and walkie talkies and all kinds of stuff. But when I was a kid, Mark was always the point man. Meg's dad was always the lookout and I was in charge of the operations"

"That's great. It's like something from the movies."

Watching her laugh, and then divert her attention back to Titanic, which had come back from commercial, Derek was struck by how beautiful she was.

He was both relieved and thrilled that she had taken such an interest in the house. Though she claimed she had no decorative talent, she knew what she liked, and often asked his opinion on what to buy or what would look good. He took an active role, but they hardly disagreed on anything, sharing a similar taste.

The house was coming along beautifully, and he visited the site almost every day, with Meredith joining him every two or three days so she could see 'visible progress'. The builders had no problems with the plans, and in about a month, they would have a totally complete house of their dreams.

But spending so much time at the house- seeing Addison and Mark totally happy living together, and thinking back on his relationship with Meredith, Derek was having second thoughts about moving in together once the house was complete. He knew that the house was a big step for Meredith. She had been totally on board, and it had really taken her a lot to be openly positive about it.

But Derek wanted more.

He wanted to move into the new house; a fresh start, as a married couple.

And something inside him told him that the new Meredith; the Meredith who was comfortable with the idea of being happy and getting everything she wanted; she could deal with a proposal.

She might even say yes.

In that moment, Derek made the decision to ask Meredith to marry him, and he wanted to ask her immediately.

--

I know it's been forever, so please please review. I'll be updating waaaaay more frequently.


	25. Will You Marry Me?

Please review!!

--

Before Derek did anything rash like asking Meredith to marry him, he knew that he had to get his daughters permission. And she all the way across the world. So, instead, Derek sought out his 'practically son-in-law' to get his advice.

Andy was eating lunch when Derek walked up, and he nodded in greeting.

"What's up."

"That smells good."

Andy shrugged.

"I stopped being lazy and made some food last night."

Derek realized how lonely Andy must have been, with everybody going their own way, and winced, resolving to invite him over more.

"I have…a matter."

Andy raised his eyebrows.

"Is this a…medical matter?"

Derek looked unsure, then started to sputter.

"No. No. Nothing like that. I, ahm…I need your advice, and I need you to keep it a secret. From…the women."

"The women?"

Derek sat down, and pulled off his scrub cap, having just come out of surgery. He ran a hand through his hair and over his eyes, glad for the outcome of the surgery.

"I want to ask Meredith to marry me."

Andy put the food down and sat up straight, looking at Derek in surprise.

"That's wonderful. Really. Did you have the ring?"

"I have it in a safety deposit box at the bank. I couldn't leave it at the house. God knows what kind of havoc Meredith and Izzy wreck when Alex and I aren't around."

"Good point. Plus, that ring needs to stay intact."

Derek laughed.

"Does it? Why? Other than the fact that it's an heirloom."

Andy just stared at Derek, until he got it.

Someday, Andy would need that ring. To ask Meg to marry him. The knowledge actually felt like a blow to the stomach. It wasn't an unhappy blow, or one that Derek resented, but it was like a burst of knowledge.

"Let me ask my girl first, _then_ you can ask yours."

They both laughed, and Andy shook his head.

"Don't worry. I can't even ask until she wins an Olympic gold medal."

"Well, let's hope that she does it in Torino. But here's the thing. I need Meg's permission to ask Meredith. I want her to be okay with it. So, I should probably wait until she comes back to Russia to talk with her, right?"

Shrugging, Andy continued to eat.

"If you want to. But let me tell you, Meg will be thrilled. I mean, over the moon. She adores Mere. And if you're in a hurry, I think e-mailinig her would be fine. It'll brighten her spirits over there. Give her something to look forward to when she gets back."

"An e-mail?"

"If you want to wait until 2 in the morning to catch her, that would probably be fine too."

"Good point. Is that what you do? Wait until ridiculous hours of the morning?"

"That's when she has lunch break and can talk. She goes to bed at nine, which makes it like 8 am here, so I can sometimes catch her if I have a break in rounds. But it's kind of a work in progress. We just e-mail a lot."

"Okay. I'll e-mail her."

"Good deal."

"Thanks."

"I'm nothing if not helpful."

Derek smiled, and left Andy doing charts and eating his lunch. Derek wrote his daughter an e-mail, wishing that he could talk to her in person, but essentially telling her what his plan was. Then, he walked into the MRI scanning lab, where Addison was monitoring a patient. She was eating a bag of sliced apples and oranges and mostly zoning out, since she was only there to see the results, and the patient was halfway through the hour long scan.

"Where did you get sliced apples?"

"Mark made me a bag before we left this morning."

"Mark is _packing you lunch_?"

She sent him a disapproving glance at his laughing remark, and went back to eating her apples.

"Do you need something?"

He sat against the computer counter and folded his arms.

"I do, actually. I needed to talk to you about something."

"Consult?"

He shook his head and grabbed an apple slice.

"No. Not medical. Personal."

"I'm not going shopping for you."

"I don't need help shopping. Meredith's birthday isn't even until January. This is serious."

She gave him her full attention, turning the swivel chair to look at him. She had her hair straight, and her glasses on, wearing her white lab coat with a blouse and skirt and her heels. She looked happy.

"Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine…I want to ask Meredith to marry me."

Addison's face immediately broke into a grin.

"That's great, Der."

"I wanted to ask you if it's alright with you."

Her eyebrows raised in surprise at his statement.

"Well, yeah. Of course it is. Why?"

"We've only been divorced a few months. I know you're happy with Mark, but I don't want you to feel…I don't know. I can't explain it. It's just important to me that you're okay with it. Because if not, I can wait a few months. I might have to if Meg says she's not comfortable with it, but…I don't know."

Addison was touched at Derek's thoughtfulness. Were she not co-habiting with Mark, she would certainly have felt a little bit embarrassed were Derek and Meredith to get married so quickly. But being with Mark had changed her life completely. He forced her to loosen up and enjoy life more- she found herself enjoying and loving her time away from surgery and wanting to do the little things that she hadn't allowed herself to do before.

"Derek, I really appreciate it. It means a lot. But I'm so happy you and Meredith are at that point. I can't wait for the wedding."

Derek grinned sheepishly.

"She has to say yes, first."

"Don't worry. Meredith knows a good thing when she sees one."

Kissing Addison's cheek, Derek left the lab to find himself some lunch, since everybody else seemed to be eating.

--

_To: Meg Shepherd at Brookings Academy Network  
_

_From: Derek Shepherd at Seattle Grace Hospital Network  
_

_Hey sweetheart. I wanted to talk to you about something, and I feel terrible about e-mailing it, but I didn't want to ambush you on the phone. _

_I've been thinking about asking Meredith to marry me. I know that it's been such a short time since Addison and I separated, but with the house and the way everything's been going, I really feel like it's time to make that step. I know you're all grown up now, and living independently with Andy. But to me, you'll always be my little girl, and what you think and how you feel means everything to me. If you don't think this is a good idea, or you don't feel happy with it in any way, please tell me, because I really want you to be okay with this, and we won't take that step until you are. You're the most important thing in my life, babygirl._

_Give me a call, doesn't matter what time._

_Love you much, Dad._

_To: Derek Shepherd at Seattle Grace Hospital Network  
_

_From: Meg Shepherd at Brookings Academy Network  
_

_Dad, I'm on the way to the arena, I just got your message. I'm SO SO happy that you're going to ask Mere to marry you- she's amazing and I can't wait to have her as part of the family. This is the right thing, and it's going to be great._

_I'll call when I can!_

_-LOVE, Meg._

--

Meg was exhausted. Halfway through the training, her first bouts of energy were way over, and it seemed that she was barely surviving every day. It was the way with all of them; spirit was low and people were trying to get through the workshop. At the end of the workshop, it would be time for the Concert of Europe, one of the biggest competitions on the international skating front. It was a huge invitational, because it had no restriction on how many skaters each country could send. The qualifying happened three weeks before, and all you had to do was meet a minimum score. Meg had won the competition the year before, so she was automatically in. The match was named after the great conference because the cost was shared by all the European countries. There was always a host country, and that year, it would be held in Prague.

Ana and Pavel were running her into the ground. She was on the ice six or seven hours a day, which was extreme training, and she had almost lost all of the weight she had put on.

Meg had to admit, it felt better without the extra weight. Training was easier, and it felt better to be back at a weight that she was used to. And because of it, everything was easier. Her jumps were higher, therefore better, and she was starting to really pick up speed and height for her quad. Even with the progress, she was looking forward to getting back to Seattle and training there.

"Again- tuck your leg in tighter. Not from the ankle, from the knee."

Ana and Pavel were joint coaching her, standing at opposite ends to watch her jumps. Meg was wearing a black leotard with a black skating skirt, and was wet all over her chest and back from sweat.

She did the jump again, and there was new criticism. It went on like that for hours sometimes. Over and over and over, it was like pounding her head against a brick wall. By the time practice was over, she felt totally drained, and didn't even have the energy to call Andy and talk. She just showered, practically drank a cup of soup, and collapsed into bed. It was the thought that she had to get up the next day and do it again that was so disheartening.

All she wanted to do was sleep, but Tanya (probably picking up on Meg's exhaustion) had slowly turned her music up louder and louder, so there was no way that she could sleep. Amilee and Lissa had gone to the grocery store because they were almost completely out of food, and so Meg had to drag herself out of bed and bang on Tanya's door. Tanya answered it wearing sweats and a tank top, almost smirking.

"Yes?"

"Could you turn the music down?"

"It's not even nine o'clock."

"Please? I'm trying to sleep."

"We all agreed that we could do what we wanted until nine-thirty. You were all watching tv last night when I was trying to meditate."

Meg suppressed the strong urge to roll her eyes. Tanya claimed she needed complete silence to meditate. She also made sure to do her 'meditation exorcises' right after dinner, when Lissa, Amilee, and Meg were hanging out.

"I'm sorry about that, we didn't realize it was so loud."

It had been so soft, in fact, that Meg had only been able to hear every other word out of Tyra Banks' mouth. America's Next Top Model reran a lot in Russia.

"Well, it's only nine o'clock, and I really wanted to listen to some music."

"Tanya, please. I'm only asking tonight- I really need to get some sleep."

"It's not even that loud."

"It is that loud, and I've really been trying, but I can't sleep. You're doing this just to be spiteful."

The Russian girl arched her eyebrows and smirked a little bit more.

"Me? Spiteful? Why would I need to be spiteful. I'm the one ranked number one right now."

"I know you look at the ratings every day to make sure, but I know you're pissed that Ana's helping to coach me, and not you."

Meg didn't really know why she was getting into an argument with Tanya. Usually, she was a pretty peaceful girl. She got riled up easily, but years of training had forced her to learn how to calm down and project a composed demeanor.

But now, she was tired. And cranky. And her muscles hurt. And most of all, she missed home. So she wasn't her usual calm, collected self.

"You've been walking around like you owned the place just because Ana decided you're more pitiful than everyone else and is giving you extra coaching lessons.

"You know that's not true, I haven't said anything about it."

They were practically yelling at each other, and if Tanya's glare could kill, Meg would keel over. Neither of them even looked over or acknowledged Amilee and Lissa as they let themselves into the apartment carrying the grocery bags.

"You think that you're so much better than us because you have such a picture perfect life in Seattle. No matter what, you can go home to people that love you."

She sneered the last words, and Meg couldn't let it go.

"That's right. I have people at home who love me. So what? Why does that drive you so crazy?"

"Because you act like it makes you better than everyone. But it doesn't. You can't just waltz back onto the training tour like you've been here all along."

"Why do you keep making this about me? I just asked you to turn the fucking music down. If you're so pissed about all that, about Ana and how skating isn't my entire life, then try to be a happier person and maybe people will like you."

With that, she went into her room and slammed the door, leaving Tanya to do the same. Not even waiting to see if the music got turned down, she put her ipod on, put on some classical piano and tried to sleep.

--

On Saturday, Meredith and Izzy went shopping. It had become kind of a system for Derek and Meredith to go out Friday night – to the movies or to dinner- and let Alex and Izzy have the house to themselves for the evening. They returned the favor on Saturday's, so Derek had planned a big dinner to make for Meredith. She mentioned shopping with Izzy, so he encouraged the outing, and once she left, called Andy over to help him cook. It ended up that Andy did the cooking while Derek was the cook's helper. He chopped and measured while Andy monitored everything.

"How did you get so good at cooking? I grew up with my mother who is an amazing cook, and I never learned any of this."

Andy just laughed.

"Believe it or not, I had to take cooking class. At Brookings. I lost a bet with Meg early in our relationship, and I took the class. And she's built on what I learned. I like it. It's fun."

Derek continued to help him, and Andy helped him set the table for a romantic dinner before wishing him luck and driving back home. Derek smelled like all the food, so he took a quick shower, and was just lighting the candles on the table when Meredith walked in.

When he had proposed to Addison, Derek had taken her out for a fancy dinner and a carriage ride around central park before popping the question. But Meredith didn't like all the fuss associated with romance. She had found a nice balance in enjoying the closeness of their relationship, and didn't want or need all the frills of coupledom. So, Derek had decided to do something simple instead. So it wouldn't freak her out and scare her.

She put her bags down at the door, and walked into the dining room where Derek was rummaging around.

"Hey. What's all this."

He smiled and kissed her sweetly, pulling her in for a hug.

"I thought we could have a nice dinner. We always go out or to the movies."

"Did you _make _all of this?"

Feeling a little embarrassed, he hung his head.

"I helped Andy."

"Aww, Derek. That's so sweet! Thank you."

She kissed him, and sat down. He had set the table so that he could sit at one end, an she could sit diagonal to him, so they wouldn't have awkward space in between them.

"Okay. So we have pot roast with carrots, potatoes and onions, a tossed salad, some kind of corn dish, and mashed potatoes."

"It smells delicious."

He served them, and they began to talk about the shopping extravaganza with Izzy. Meredith hadn't bought as much as Izzy, just a couple sweaters and bras that had been on sale, mostly going to keep Izzy company.

"And, of course, we went to the Pottery Barn. I swear, Izzy would buy that store if she could. She should get stock in it."

"Good idea for Christmas. What did she get?"

"Some bowls and bath towels. When we move out, she's going to redo this house top to bottom."

"I think Alex will put his foot down before that."

She ate some more of the food, marveling over how good it was and thanking Derek for putting all of it together.

"Did you get called in today?"

Derek shook his head.

"No. But I called in and my aneurism rupture is doing well in recovery. Which is good, because she spiked a fever after surgery."

"We should do something fun tomorrow. Izzy said there's a street fair downtown. Arts and crafts and things."

"Sure. We'll have to drag Alex."

They smiled, each of them thinking that Alex would grumble and groan, but would allow himself to be pulled along because it would make Izzy happy. The four of them often did little things together on the weekends, usually spur of the moment and calling both Addison and Mark, and Andy. Andy usually declined and Mark and Addison were a fifty-fifty shot, depending on whether or not he decided he wanted to give up a whole day in bed.

"Did you get over to the house?"

"No. This took up a lot more time than I expected. But I imagine that they're almost done with the downstairs by now. In a few weeks, we can start having it painted."

Derek was sparing no expense about the house. They had a crew working on it every single day, and as a result, it was coming along quite fast.

"I'm so excited. I can't wait to finish finding things and move in."

By that point, they had almost finished with dinner, and Derek felt like the ring box in his pocket was a hundred degrees and burning. He knew he should probably wait, but really, he just couldn't. So, he slid his hand about ten inches and covered Meredith's hand with his.

"I wanted to talk to you about that"

She looked up worriedly.

"Are they pushing the date back?"

"No. This is just something that I…wanted to talk about with you."

She had no idea what was coming.

"Okay?"

Derek took a deep breath and suppressed the desire to take a sip of the wine.

"Well. I just wanted to say how happy I am about, this whole process.-"

"Oh, me too, Derek. I'm _so_ happy."

Smiling, he nodded.

"Yes…Mere, I know that moving in together is a huge step. We're building this house, and shopping, and making these plans, and I just feel like we're doing all these wonderful things, and just wanted to go even farther. Because I love you, and I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Her mouth dropped open, and her heart started to speed up.

"Oh my god."

"Mere, will you marry me?"

He sank onto his knee, and produced the ring box. Meredith was a few steps from hyperventilating, but Derek put his hand on her knee.

"It's just us, Mere."

Very slowly, Meredith opened the ring box to find the family heirloom.

"This is actually a family ring. It belonged to my great- grandmother. And everyone in the family uses it to get engaged. Even Janna and Nancy's husbands and Tom used it to ask the girls. But…you're the first woman I've ever given this ring to."

Meredith was still silent, just looking at the ring. Then, after almost a whole minute, she spoke, her eyes still on the ring.

"Do you really think we'll make it?"

Derek nodded.

"I really do. Because I won't let anything in my life become more important. You're an intern, and that's demanding. But you won't always be one, and until then, I understand what you'll be going through and how difficult it is. I won't let us fall apart."

Very slowly, she held her hand out so Derek could slip the ring on her finger.

"Yes…I'll marry you."

Feeling totally overwhelmed and shaky, Derek's hand wobbled as he took the ring out of the velvet bed, and slipped it onto her third finger. Then he looked up at her, and felt his heart swell with almost too much emotion. Leaning up, he kissed her, pulling her head close to his, and then pulled her into a hug as he stood.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

They kissed and kissed, just enjoying the moment. Meredith was oddly proud of herself for not completely freaking out, and held Derek tightly.

Until a thought occurred to her.

"What about Meg?"

Derek laughed, and wrapped his arms around her again.

"Don't worry. I already talked to her. We e-mailed."

"_You e-mailed her about marrying me?_"

"Andy said it was okay! Besides, she couldn't have been happier. Maybe if you ask nice she'll help you plan the wedding."

Meredith buried her face in Derek's neck, enjoying the feeling, and acutely aware that a few months ago, she would never have been able to take the step she was making.

But somewhere around the time that Meg arrived in Seattle, everything changed. The young woman was like the glue that held everything together. And there were changes in everyone; Derek was more laid back and relaxed. He was much more likely to let things unfold than to work tirelessly to have an influence over everything. Meredith herself had changed so much, becoming more self confident and believing that she deserved a happy ending. Izzy had become happier with all the relationships in her life, since she and Meredith had gotten closer, and her relationship with Meg had become a great friendship. Even Alex was more mellow, and Mark had become a much more fun person to be around. Addison seemed happier than Meredith had ever seen her, and Meredith strongly suspected that the change was not only because of Mark, but because she now had the complete and total love of her former step daughter as a good friend.

"Do you care if we have a smaller wedding? Not tiny, but not huge?"

"Mere, you can plan the wedding of your dreams, and it can be however big you want. I just want my immediate family there, and other than that, we can cut anybody else out."

"We can talk about all that later."

She leaned in, and kissed him again, deepening the kiss and wrapping her arms around his head.

"Don't you want to eat desert? Andy made us brownies."

Meredith smiled, but shook her head

"Let's go practice being married."

Laughing, and kissing, and grinning, they headed upstairs.

--

The next morning, they broke the news to everyone. First they called Andy while they were still in their bedroom, and he congratulated Meredith heartily. Then they told Izzy and Alex. Izzy screamed with delight and Alex hugged Mere and shook Derek's hand, grumbling about unneeded and unwanted pressure being put on him.

Then they phoned up Mark and Addison, sharing the news and inviting them to the street fair. Following that, they called Derek's parents, Casey, and Daphne, telling them in conference call that they had gotten engaged. Both of his sisters were thrilled for him, and his parents were also overjoyed; both at the engagement, and at Meredith's addition to the family.

In the end, everyone ended up at Meredith's house while Izzy made breakfast, laughing and congratulating the happy couple. Mark brought over a bottle of champagne, and they toasted as they ate Izzy's delicious French toast. Then, they drove downtown to the street fair, and spent the latter part of the morning perusing the fair.

There were all kinds of vendors selling their artwork, and while the women stopped and looked at each thing, the men trailed behind, buying food at each little stand.

"Have you given any thought to the wedding?"

"We talked about it briefly yesterday. I want it small. Not minuscule," she rushed to assure Izzy, "but smallish. You guys will help plan, right? Please?"

Both Addison and Izzy nodded, but the blonde emitted a little squeal as well. Already, Meredith could see daydreams of wedding extravaganzas flitting through her friends mind. She desperately hoped that Meg would agree to help and also that the soon to be daughter was more realistic.

"I think a nice wedding is best. I don't mean to bring up mine and Derek's, but let me tell you. It was huge. And I hated almost every minute of it."

Meredith looked at Addison in surprise.

"Really?"

"It wasn't the wedding I hated. There was just so much planning, so many people I didn't know, everybody had a different idea. Yours will be about the two of you."

They shared a smile, and continued to look through all the handcrafted furniture and decorations.

"I love this."

"Izzy, that pot is like, almost as tall as Meg."

"So?"

"You don't need a big…urn-vase. What would you put in it?"

Izzy shrugged.

"I don't know. Alex, maybe?"

Addison gave a very un-lady like snort and fingered one of the necklaces somebody was selling. They were delicately cut bits of glass strung together and glittered in the sun, looking both beautiful and elegant. She was looking at all of them, when Mark appeared behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, kissed her neck, and fingered one of the necklaces.

"These are pretty."

"Yeah."

"You like them?"

Addison shrugged.

"I couldn't wear them in surgery. And they don't really match anything I have."

She was nothing if not practical. She had a nano second memory of every piece of jewelry she owned and all of her clothing as well. It was why all of her jewelry was exquisite and expensive.

"Do you want it?"

Smiling, she kissed his cheek.

"Don't. I don't need it, and these street fairs charge extravagant prices."

"Addison, we make millions of dollars a year. I think we can afford to throw money away on little things we like."

She had always been just a little bit frugal. And practical. Mark laughed, and kissed her earlobe, taking a little nip.

"So it doesn't match anything you have. You can wear it in bed."

He withdrew a fifty from his wallet and handed it to the woman running the booth. She wrapped up the necklace, and put it in a bag for them to take home.

"Thanks, baby."

"Yeah, well, you owe me."

They continued on, trying to prevent Izzy from buying up the entire fair. She ended up buying a clay pot that was a decently small size, and made Alex lug it around for the rest of the morning, until they ate lunch and left.

Meredith was more excited than ever for Meg to return home so they could all celebrate as a family, and get Andy to hang out with them again. Everything would be perfect in just a few weeks.

--

PLEASE PLEASE review. Pleeeeeease.


	26. Concert of Europe

Please, please review…please…

This chapter has a lot of language in it, so anything that's spoken in French or Russian will have the translation right after it. And for the figure skating commentary, the way it's written should be clear about who's saying what.

--

By the end of the training camp, all of the girls were eager to be on their way home. Meg's routine was better than it had ever been, and her triples were also much better. She had started to attempt the quad in practice, but would just be doing her regular routine for the "Concert". On Wednesday evening, she packed up her suitcase since they were leaving early in the morning. They weren't as tired since the practices had gotten easier in the last few days, in preparation for the competition.

Amilee was playing music from her laptop in the living room while they all bustled about, getting rid of the food and cleaning and setting everything up for the competition. They went to bed early, were up at six, and were at the airport by 7:30, unfortunately sharing a cab with Tanya. At the airport, they sat in a big group, along with the coaches, waiting for their flight to be called. Meg, Amilee, and Lissa played cards, and once they got on the plane, they each pulled out their ipods and tried to sleep. They arrived in Prague around eleven, and were immediately taken to the skating arena. Each of them went through their short program routines a few times, before they were taken to their hotels to shower. Amilee went first, then Lisa and Meg. Usually they just did their make up and hair at the arena in the dressing rooms, but since there were so many girls competing, the dressing rooms were packed full, and they took advantage of the hotel.

After showering, Meg pulled her hair into a beautiful bun, and secured it with a hair net that was glittery with little crystals. She hair sprayed, and started with her make up. It was dark enough to be seen and noticed, making her eyes smoky and sexy. She put on lip liner, lip stick, and lip gloss, and blush over the foundation. Finally, she put on her skating costume. It was simple, exceedingly so. In light blue, it was like a little dress, with triangle straps. It was delicate and very flattering, but much more simple than anything the other girls would be wearing. Meg only wore really exquisite costumes when she was in major competition like Nationals or the World Championships.

Amilee was wearing a red number with lots of netting and beadwork, and Lissa had a light pink long-sleeved outfit made along the same lines.

Looking in the mirror, Lissa threaded some pink ribbons through her intricately braided hairstyle.

"I look like a piñata."

Amilee laughed, and patted her back.

"Yes. You do. But a pretty piñata. I would want to crack you open."

All three of them burst into giggles, and Amilee threw a can of hairspray into her skating bag as they got ready to go. They put on their warm ups, which were usually the national ones of their countries, but could occasionally be made by sponsors. Meg's was mostly white, with blue chunks, and a couple red accents, as well as the USA logo over the left breast.

Amilee's looked similar with the French colors, and Lissa's was green. After they checked their bags again, they left the room, and went down to the lobby where their coaches would be waiting. The hotel room had two double beds, so instead of rooming by herself, Lissa had decided to room with Amilee and Meg, who always roomed together at competition.

Once they were in the lobby, however, they split up with their coaches to take different cabs to the ice complex. As they drove through the city, Meg gazed out the window, loving the beauty of Prague.

"Did you know that Prague really started to expand and flourish under Charles the fifth, rather than under the Hapsburgs?"

Pavel rolled his eyes as he studied some of Meg's taped videos on his ipod.

"I know more about history than you will ever hope to."

"Did you know Prague castle is the biggest castle in the world?"

"Did you know that Maria Bastinolva from Serbia just upgraded her starting value last week?"

Ignoring him, Meg gazed at the beautifully lit Prague Castle, just across the river.

"It's the biggest castle in the world."

"It _is_ very beautiful."

"Imagine being the Holy Roman Emperor."

Sighing deeply, Pavel put the ipod away and looked at her in building frustration.

"Meg. Концентрат, немного один." (_concentrate__, little one)_

"Я пробую." (_I'm trying)_

_"_You'll be fine. All you have to do is finish with a clean skate."

They were silent for the rest of the ride, and Meg immediately got out, dodging the couple photographers who were standing outside the skaters' entrance and taking pictures. Pavel followed her in, and she walked through the hallways, well marked in five languages, and found the locker room.  Amilee was there already, and had already set up at her make up station. Next to her, at the empty seat and counter, was an enormous bouquet of red roses. As Meg sat, she and Amilee looked at each other in the mirror.

"Well, some things never change."

They grinned as Meg took out the card to read. Andy always sent her roses before each competition, no matter where in the world it was held.Amilee raised an eyebrow.

"Well? What does Romeo have to say?"

"J'ai de grands espoirs que nous nous aimerons toutes nos vies autant que si nous ne nous étions jamais mariés du tout."

He always sent a quote of somebody else's- usually a poet, and she had to either guess or look up who it was by.

"I have great hopes that we shall love each other all our lives as much as if we had never married at all…Very romantic. Who's it by?"

Meg smiled.

"Lord Byron."

"Well, at least he knows your favorite poet."

Andy never really wrote anything after that. Meg didn't really need good luck assurances. She knew what she needed to do. And she only needed to concentrate.

But she had a long, long weight. Even though she arrived well after the competition had started, she still had almost an hour and a half until she had to skate. She would have an opportunity to skate before that- just a couple jumps and a couple laps around the rink, and she would have opportunity to do some running on the treadmill to get her heart rate up.

"Hey. Cheer up. We have a great line up. Last three of the night."

Meg nodded. She was second to last, with Amilee going before her, and Lissa afterwards.

"What about Tanya?"

"She's before me."

"Good. You can kick her ass."

Amilee snorted.

"Yes. Fabulous. Then you can kick mine. Les résultats de vie, est-ce que ce n'est pas vrai ?" (Results of life, is it not true?")

"I'm just nervous. I haven't done this in months. I hate waiting."

"Just think. After this, you'll get to go home and start planning your father's wedding to this Meredith person."

"Meredith is great."

"I have no doubt. She gets to wear that fabulous ring."

Everybody knew about the Shepherd heirloom engagement ring. And, of course, everybody thought it romantic.

"Well, we'll see how much longer she gets to wear it. I hope it's not even a year."

Amilee's face went from surprised to shocked.

"Are you saying you're giving up your resolution? No engagement before gold? What if you don't win?"

Meg just looked at herself in the mirror as she re-darkened her eyebrows and touched up her mascara.

"I want Andy to know that he's more important than any gold medal. But it might not matter. I don't know if he wants to get married immediately. Or maybe he wants a long engagement."

Lissa walked in then, and sat at her station next to Meg's, as she got out her make up kit and started to apply glitter shine.

"What are we talking about?"

"Meg's getting engaged."

"_What?_"

Meg just laughed at Lissa's face, which was so surprised, she was scared her eyebrows would disappear.

"I am not getting engaged. I'm just going to tell Andy that he can ask me whenever he wants. I don't need my gold before I get engaged."

"So, say Andy doesn't propose to you. How long does Meredith get the ring?"

Amilee had a passionate love of jewelry. She knew how fabulous the ring was, but Meg just shrugged.

"She has it until somebody else needs it. But most of the women in my family are given their own ring for their 1st anniversary."

"So you think it's coming to you soon?"

"I don't know. Really. Andy's got his own ideas about everything. We were fine dating at Brookings, but he was pretty hesitant about moving in together and buying a house. He think I'm too young for so much commitment."

Lissa smiled a little bit.

"You're not even twenty."

"But I know what I want."

Amilee stood up and gathered her skating bag as she left to stretch. Meg painted some teeth whitener onto her top row, and used some of Lissa's glitter on her hair.

"I need to stretch. A lot."

She kissed Lissa's head and left the dressing room for the warm up room. It was a decently sized weight room with a hug blue mat to stretch on, as well as five treadmills and six stationary bikes. Amilee was already in her stretching exorcises and Meg pulled out her ipod as she started stretching. She would stretch by herself for almost a half hour, then get on one of the bikes and do that for fifteen minutes. After that, Pavel would massage and rub down her muscles before she got the opportunity to skate during the last break of the evening.

Slowly relaxing and stretching her body, she closed her eyes and thought about  her muscles and her routine, blocking everything else out of her mind. When she felt totally stretched, she got onto the bike, and got her blood pumping, before Pavel came to get her. They went into the athletic room, and Meg got onto the exam table to lie down, so Pavel could massage her calves and hamstrings and arms. They were mostly quiet as they worked, and when they were done, Meg laced up her skates and made her way back to the rink, where the last girl before break was just getting finished. There would be a six minute break before the final segment, which contained Lydie Havvaland from Great Britain, Tanya, Amilee, Meg and Lissa.

They all got onto the ice, and skated around each other, practicing spins and combinations and footwork passages. Meg threw herself into her skating, concentrating on what she was doing, and thinking about her footwork. When the buzzer went off, she got off the ice and got on her flatbeds, walking over to the long bench that was almost fifteen yards long. Pavel was waiting with her skate bag, an as she sat down and pulled on the warm up jacket, he knelt to knead her calf muscles, trying to keep her warmed up.

"После вашей первой комбинации, держите ваше abdominals напряженное." _(**After your first combination, keep your abdominals tight.)**_

Meg nodded.

"Но когда Вы выходите из смертельной спирали, не забудьте расслаблять ваш abdominals. Вы будете чувствовать себя лучше о вашей очереди. " (**_But when you come out of the outside edge spiral, remember to relax your abdominals. You'll feel better about your turn_.)**

"На комбинации работы ног, первый-" _(_**_On the footwork combination, the first one-_**_)_

"Не думайте об этом. Примите так много мер, как Вы чувствуете. Не переделывайте думают ваш путь через это." (**_Don't think about it. Take as many steps as you feel. Don't over think your way through it_.)**

She nodded again, and Pavel kept prodding and massaging her muscles. When Tanya got on the ice to do her routine, Meg sat on the floor while Pavel sat behind her and massaged her neck and upper back/shoulders.

"Ваш layback был прекрасен практически. Концентрат на форме и Вы получите скорость." (**_Your layback was perfect in practice. Concentrate on form and you'll get speed_**)

Tanya finished her routine, and both Meg and Amilee took the ice. Amilee was getting ready for her routine, but Meg just took a lap and did a triple before hugging Amilee.

"Aimez-vous, le chéri." (_Love you, sweetie)_

She left the ice, and put on her flat beds as she stretched out by the side- not watching Amilee, but talking concentrating on her routine as Pavel let her concentrate.

When Amilee was done, she exited the ice for the kiss and cry, and Meg took her warm up jacket off, and got onto the rink.

--

Commentary by**_ Ken Browning _**and_ Peggy Fleming_

"**Okay, and now we're welcoming Margaret Shepherd to the ice. This is her first competitive skate in over six months…**_That's right, Ken. She moved her training from New York to Seattle, so she could be closer to her family…_**Now, there's been a lot of speculation that her training has suffered from the absence of competition, but her programme is anything but easy; she has three triple combinations….**_She's also been looking very good in her warm ups. From what we've seen, the move to Seattle has been a great one for her…_**Amilee Moliel getting her scores now. It was a good routine…**_It really was. Will it be enough to get her in front of Tanya __Leheringolof__?..._**I think it will, Peggy..And yes.  A 63.45, that puts her ahead of Tany leheringolof by almost a point and three tenths. **_…So now Meg Shepherd has her first skate…_**You must be pretty happy to see her back, I know you always enjoyed watching her…**_I really do, Ken. She has just a great skating persona. She can really adjust her routine because she has the ability to do sweeping, graceful performances, but she has that firecracker personality, and that capacity to just draw you into the performance because it's so much fun…_**And she can certainly do that tonight, she's performing to can-can…**_She's coached by Pavel Charovski. One of the world's best coaches, of course…_**Here she goes…**_It's a very playful routine…_**And right into her footwork routines- look at that…**_Even when she has a fast routine like this, her footwork is so delicate. And so precise…and she goes right into the first combination here…_**Look at the speed she has- Here's the lutz- axle, and the toe loop! _.._**_Beautiful execution…_**She gets so much air on her jumps…**_I think it really dates back to her career in pairs skating- remember that's how she learned to skate. She was paired with Jonathan Carter when she was just eight years old, and Carter was almost fifteen…_**That's right. They skated on and off together for the better part of four years, until they split for good so that Meg could work on her singles skating. And, of course, Carter went on to win the silver medal in Salt Lake City...**_But that's really where she learned to jump. And here comes her split jump..beautifully into the double crossover back lance…_**Is and back into her second jump combination. It's a little more difficult in order, flipping the axle and the lutz, and ending with a Salchow.**_ ….Good prepare;…And it it's beautiful…_**The speed she takes these jumps at is just not something  you're going to see every day…**_ and look at her form here, this is another point where she really shines. _**Beautiful layback spin…**_She's the reigning European Concert champion. She won this last year with a beautiful routine to Swan Lake…_**And tomorrow she has a programme to Nessun Duerma. **_..I really think that this move to Seattle has been beneficial. Her technique has just improved by leaps and bounds. _**She graduated from Brookings Academy in May, and she's living with her boyfriend on the west coast. So it's also refreshing to see girls living their own lives outside of the sport…**_Absolutely. Now, we're coming to the end of her routine, and she has a series of jumps here out of the half pike layback spin that I think is just fantastic. And these come out of her third triple combination which is a triple salchow, triple flip and triple lutz. And she looked great landing it in practice, so let's see how it goes…_**Great height- Perfect landing. And the flip, Oh, _and _she gets the lutz. What a routine…**_and here's the series of jumps…_**She is right with the music. This is a great routine that Scarlett Johnsonn has choreographed. **_Now, here she ends in a layback spin…gorgeous angle…_**And once again, look at her speed. **_And that was a great routine, Meg Shepherd has really set a high bar, and I think that she'll have no problem topping Amilee Moliel, who had a great routine herself. _**And look at that smile. She knows that she is back on top of the skating world, and I have to say, from where I'm sitting, she is really a contender for medaling in Torino if she continues like that…**_And a great reaction from the crowd. They really love her- and they always have…And a big hug from Pavel. She has really delivered tonight…_**Let's take a look at those combinations…now, you see, here, she's preparing for the lutz, and she has just the perfect body angle, she's going in at almost thirty-five degrees, and she just takes off with that left leg…it's the same way with this second combination, the entire thing rests on her take off, and she just gets that leg under her and pushes off the ground…Now, take a look at his ending jump pattern- like the speed for the jumps, it's all about her lift off for each one and she just gets it done…**_Now, let's look at her, at the kiss and cry._

_--_

Meg sat down at the bench and took a long swig of the water bottle Pavel handed her, just after he hugged her and kissed both her cheeks. As they sat, one of the junior skaters handed her a large bouquet, and Meg continued to drink the water, her chest heaving as she and Pavel awaited her scores.

"Хорошая Работа. точно, что Вы должны были сделать." (**_Good job. Exactly what you needed to do.)_**

"Я получал достаточную высоту на первой оси?" (**_Did I get enough height on the first axle?_**)

"Да. Очень хороший. И layback, показанный хорошо. Немного колебания на второй комбинации работы ног. " (**_Yes. Very good. And the layback clocked well. Little hesitation on second footwork combination_**)

"Yes. Very good. And the layback clocked well. Little hesitation on second footwork combination." (**_I know, I felt that, i thought i could save it.)_**

"Да, Вы сделали. Я думаю очень небольшое вычитание для этого." (**_Yes, you did. I think very little deduction for it_**.)

"Прокляните это." (**_God damn it.)_**

"Номер Очень хорошей рутины, Вы сделали очень хорошо." (**_No._****_ Very good routine, you did very well._**)

Meg still grimaced a little bit, and Pavel pulled her close again and kissed her temple.

"Улыбка, litt Вы нуждался к do.le один. Вы сделали то, что Вы нуждались делать.." (**_Smile, little one._****_ You did what you needed to do_**.)

"Здесь они прибывают." (**_Here it comes_**)

They both looked up at the score board, waiting for the scores to be announced. The numbers flashed on the screen, a 64.18, which was enough to put her in first place, ahead of Amilee. Pavel kissed her again and Meg stood up to wave at the crowd and smile.

--

Rushing home from surgery, Andy immediately put on the tv. ESPN 2 was showing the competition during prime time, though it had taken place much earlier that morning in Seattle time. He had set the DVR to record, and he eagerly fast forwarded through the other skaters to get to the very end, where Amilee began her routine. He watched Amilee, and then watched Meg take the ice. She looked beautiful. Very thin, but beautiful- especially in the color she was wearing.

Andy smiled as she came out, missing her more than ever, and knowing she would be home in less than 48 hours.

He watched her routine, which to anybody else would look flawless. But he was used to seeing her, and he knew what to look for. It was a great performance, but he could see her small mistakes.

She got through the routine beautifully, however, and sent to the kiss and cry to await her scores. Andy smiled again as she camera showed her talking with Pavel in Russian, drinking water and looking anxiously at the board to get her scores. When they came, she smiled, and hugged Pavel, then waved before the camera went to Lissa, who was getting ready to skate.

Lissa skated absolutely beautifully, and landed all of her combinations, but in a surprise judging, she was only ranked second. Thrilled for Meg, Andy continued through the commentary until they went to the interview Meg had done immediately after her skate. She was back in her warm ups, and smiled at the reporter

"Meg, great job out there, how did it feel to be back on competitive ice?"

"It felt great. I've been out for a while since I moved training facilities, so it was nice to finally be in front of a crowd again."

"You placed first after the short competition, what were you thinking before you went out?"

"Well, I knew I just needed a clean skate to get into the top three, Amilee did a great routine, and I had a bit of luck at the end when Lissa got a little foot tied on her Salchow, but other than that it was just about having a clean skate."

"What will you do to prepare for tomorrow?"

"Well, I think that my long program is the more difficult of the two, so I'll definitely be taking it easy and going through my music, and hopefully I'll be able to get some practice in before then."

"Alright, thanks."

"Thank You."

The report went back to Bob Costas, and Andy put the tv off. Luckily, the next day they were showing the competition live, and it would be Saturday afternoon in Seattle, so everyone could gather at the Carmichael household to watch.

--

When Meg arrived at the hotel with Amilee, she was exhausted and famished. However, unlike the other competitions, the Concert of Europe was really laid back during the off ice parts. She and Amilee decided to go get some food since it was still only ten o'clock, and changed into jeans and blouses. They wandered out of the hotel and down some streets to a local restaurant, where they found a couple of the other girls. Nancy Clintmore and Penny Goldstein were from the UK and Meg had always been very friendly with them. Amilee liked them too, and they sat down with them to order some food.

"Are you hungry?"

"Are you kidding? Je meurs de faim." (**_I'm starving_**)

When Amilee was around Meg, she almost always spoke either entirely in French, or in some kind of hybrid language. Usually she was polite when they were around other people, but after training with Nancy and Penny in Zurich, she knew both girls spoke more than passable French.

"I'm hungry too. And I haven't eaten food like this in months, so I want a bunch of stuff."

Amilee smiled in resignation. Ordering with Meg was kind of a pain. She loved food and had to taste everything.

"Knedlíky?"

The French girl shrugged.

"Why don't we get an order of it and split because I won't eat much of the cabbage. And get an order of Bramboráky. I'm really hungry."

"Where's Lissa? She's rooming with you, isn't she?"

Meg nodded at Nancy.

"She is, but we couldn't find her. And I tried calling. Her coach probably took her out afterwards for food, or she was just late. She'll call, I'm sure."

"So. How's life in Seattle?"

"It's good. Are you still in Zurich?"

"Yeah. Year round now. Penny too."

They made small talk until the waitress arrived and took their orders.

"How was one whole month of Tanya?"

Both Amilee and Meg groaned, thrilled to be out of Moscow and away from Tanya. Amilee answered Penny's question.

"It was lovely. Lots of complaining, bitching and moaning. Let's talk about something pleasant, shall we?"

--

Please please review!!


	27. Fluff

PLEASE REVIEW!!

--

Meg and Amilee talked with Nancy and Penny about people they knew, and caught up on each other's lives. They ate and had a good time, before all walking back to the hotel. Lissa still wasn't back, and Meg showered (Amilee had done so before they left) quickly, getting all the hairspray and glitter out of her hair thoroughly. She put on her pajamas, and climbed into bed with Amilee, who was flipping channels.

"This is ridiculous. 200 channels and I can't get the damn score."

Amilee was kind of sort of maybe dating a French soccer player who played for Marseilles, and she showed quite a bit of interest in actually following what he did.

"Just get my blackberry and look it up."

"Why don't I have one of these? My cell phone internet is so slow."

They looked up the scores, and Meg settled on some Italian movie that was on tv, that neither of them could hope to really understand, but they had fun putting all of their known languages together and guessing what the actors were saying. Finally, an hour later, the door opened, and Lissa walked in, wearing jeans and a dark red halter top that Meg thought looked suspiciously like the one that had been in her own suitcase earlier that day.

 "Où l'enfer avez-vous été ?" (_Where the hell have you been?)_

But Meg ignored Amilee's demand and looked at Lissa, who looked like she had the biggest secret in the world and was bursting to share it.

"I'm more interested why you're wearing my shirt. Lissa, what happened."

Lissa sat on the side of their bed, on Meg's side, and grinned.

"He came."

"What?"

"He came. To the competition?"

"Who? Amando?"

Amilee's mouth formed a perfect 'o', and even Meg's dropped open. They had both encouraged Lissa to invite Amando, but neither of them had thought there would be any actual developments from the invitation. Lissa was so reserved with men (having had very little interaction with them) and Amando was so protective of Lissa it was unthinkable that he would have done anything.

"Tell me you let him pop your cherry."

Meg smacked Amilee, and took off her glasses and put down the magazine she had been reading.

"_What happened_?"

"I got done skating and I was getting my stuff packed in the dressing room- I think you two were doing interviews, and then he walked in. He was right there. I couldn't believe it. He said he hadn't said he was coming because he wasn't sure if he would have been out of court early enough this morning, but they did get out early, so he flew out here. And he brought me a necklace, a really beautiful necklace."

She was talking a mile a minute, and Meg stopped her so she could take a breath.

"Where is it?"

And, suddenly, shy Lissa was back, and she was blushing so red, Meg might have thought she was sick.

"It's in his hotel room."

"Mon Dieu."

Amilee just couldn't keep her mouth shut or stop giggling, and Meg elbowed her.

"How did it get there."

"We were in his hotel-it's just down the street, because he asked if he could take me to dinner, like he always does when he comes to Moscow or Zurich, so I said yes, and we went to the restaurant there, and we were eating- well, actually we stopped here first so I could change and scrub the glitter off, and I was feeling so happy I thought I'd put on something other than all  the boring things I have, so I'm sorry about the top-"

"It's fine don't worry about it what happened?"

"Well, so then we went downstairs, and over to his hotel and had dinner. And, well, I had a little wine."

The story was becoming more surprising by the minute.

"You had wine?"

Lissa was a stickler for following a strict diet which was exceedingly non-alcoholic.

"Not a lot-I wasn't drunk. But, I don't know. We were talking- really talking, just about everything, and he was telling me about his life in Roma, and how he really feels about his job, and how he just bought this villa just out of the city and is remodeling it. And, I don't know. It was like he was really interested in me and what I want to do after skating and all that. And he was talking about my other skates- I guess he watches if I'm on tv sometimes- and I told him how happy I was that he had come. And he said that he was thrilled to be there and he was happy I had invited him, and then he asked why I did it."

"And? Qu'avez-vous dit-What did you say?"

"I don't know what made me say it, but I just kind of blurted out that you two had told me to because you thought that he might like me, and how silly that actually was."

"What was his response?"

"_He told me it was true! Dio questo è surreal (_**god this is surreal**_)_. I couldn't believe it. I just stared at him. He said that he'd always liked me, really since I turned sixteen. And that he never wanted to say anything because he always thought I wasn't interested at all."

Meg and Amilee were riveted. Amilee because she adored Lissa and gossip, and Meg because she adored Lissa and any romantic story. It would also make her thrilled to see Lissa happy. At twenty-two, she was already old for the sport, and hadn't had a lot of life experience. She had won two world championships, and taken silver at the previous Olympics, so she was getting to the point when she needed to start _thinking _about life after gymnastics. Unfortunately, her whole life had been about training. She had spent the last ten years away from her family, almost solely with her coaches or other female skaters, so she had no experience with boys or any romantic relationships.

"So then what?"

"Well, I sort of ran away."

"You _ran away?"_

Nodding, Lissa got up and kicked out of her jeans, and pulled on pajama pants, and traded the halter top for a sleeping tank.

"Not a full on sprint, I just sort of excused myself and walked quickly."

"Why, chéri?"

Lissa shook her head, and laid herself across Meg and Amilee's bed.

"Because I just felt totally overwhelmed. I've liked him for years. I mean it. I really have. I just never talked about it because I always thought there was no hope."

"Of course there's hope."

"I know that now."

Amilee had turned the tv completely off by then, but she readjusted her position to sit cross legged.

"So then what?"

"He chased after me."

I was on the balcony and he came out and…he just asked me what was wrong, and I told him. That I'd liked him forever…and then he kissed me."

"Oh, Lissa!"

"She hasn't said she kissed him back. You did kiss him back, didn't you?"

"Si. I did."

She smiled so sweetly that she Meg felt her heart ache a little bit, thinking about how she had felt the first time she and Andy had kissed. It had been  right after their fifth date, and unlike Lissa's kiss with Amando, it hadn't been sweet or passive. They had been walking out of Gino's, an Italian restaurant that was close to campus, and talking about past relationships (mainly, Meg didn't have any), and how Meg had never been kissed and thought it was overrated. Andy had just stopped, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into the nearby ally, backing her up against the wall. She'd barely had time to say anything before he kissed her. It had been one of the single best moments of her life. She had wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.

"And then?"

"We went in and finished dinner, and he told me that he had a present for me in his room."

Amilee smiled.

"You actually fell for that."

"Don't be an idiot. He told me to wait in the lounge, but…well, I sort of followed him up."

Amilee gasped, totally thrilled, and gave Lissa a high five.

"So you went up?"

He was surprised and let me in, and gave me the necklace, and then-"

"I need details. Color, metal, value?"

Meg rolled her eyes, but Lisa just smiled.

"It's silver. A string of miniature magnolia's with white gold flecks. It's gorgeous."

"Okay. Now you can move on. Meg hasn't gotten any jewelry from Andy."

"Um, hey now. He gave me a necklace for my birthday last year."

"Did it have diamonds?"

"No. I don't need diamonds. It's a sentimental necklace."

"Well, then, you can be quiet."

Meg elbowed Amilee, who squealed, and rolled forward.

"I'm just saying, Amando has it down!"

"It could be a ten dollar necklace from Clairs!"

Amilee shook her head. "He gave her the Tiffany's Natural Beauty necklace."

"You don't know that."

Meg looked at Lissa, who looked a little embarrassed to nod her head.

"_How do you know that?_"

Amilee was like Addison in her knowledge of fashion and jewelry and anything expensive. Meg was so much more…bohemian, with a high quality fashion sense. Amilee could have been a model she loved clothes so much. It was partly why her skating costumes were so beautiful.

"How I know isn't important. Anyway, what did you do?"

Lissa just smiled, and took Amilee's abandoned spot next to Meg.

"I don't know. I just started kissing him."

"_And?"_

Lissa ducked her head into Meg's shoulder, and all three of them giggled.

"Did you DO it?"

"_No_. We just kissed a lot. Don't be so crass."

"I'm French. I can't help it."

Again, they burst into laughter, and Amilee started jumping on the bed.

"Lissa and Ando sittin in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Lissa with the baby carriage."

"In Russian!"

"Lissa и Ando sittin в дереве. ЦЕЛОВАНИЕ. Сначала прибывает любовь, затем прибывает брак, затем прибывает Lissa в коляску."

"And French?"

"Lissa et Ando sittin dans un arbre. Le fait d'EMBRASSER. D'abord vient l'amour, vient ensuite le mariage, vient ensuite Lissa avec le landau."

They all burst into laughter, Amilee still jumping, until Lissa looked at Meg seriously.

"We decided that we want to be together. No pressure, but since we like each other so much. I'm actually going to spend a week in Roma after this, before going to Zurich, so we'll talk to my family."

"Lissa, that's great. We're so happy for you. Even this crazy Frenchwoman."

"Thank you. But, just out of curiosity, when did you and Andy first… fare l'amore. Make love. Have sex?"

Amilee stopped jumping, and landed on her knees, her face almost gleeful.

"Yes, Meg. Tell us. When _did _you and Andy avoir le sexe?"

Meg glared at Amilee, since she knew exactly when Meg and Andy had first _gotten together_.

"Well, uh. It was...after I got back from a two month stay in Zurich. Rather…early in our relationship."

"How many dates?"

She almost reached over and yanked a handful of Amilee's beautiful golden hair out.

"I don't remember. I was still sixteen though. He gave me my first kiss, on our fifth date, and that was when we really got together though."

Lissa's eyes got wide. "Really?"

"Yeah. Really. I mean, I know we should have waited longer than we did- sixteen is so fucking young. It's not something I'm particularly proud of- but I don't regret it…just make sure you're ready."

"Amilee, how old were you?"

"I'm still a virgin."

Meg snorted, and Lissa giggled. "Tell us a believable lie."

"I lost it when I was eighteen. To Cole Doureghty."

Cole had been a fellow Zurich skater, but had been a pairs skater. He and Amilee had spent almost two years together before breaking up to concentrate on training.

"And Cole was awesome and I don't regret it either, but take it easy with Amando. You've got forever."

Lissa smiled, and decided after glancing at the clock, the three of them decided to go to bed. Lissa's happiness was infectious, however, and all three girls got into bed with a smile on her face.

"Amilee, stop kicking."

"I can't help it, you're stealing the blankets."

"But your feet are cold."

"GOD, how does Andy live with you?"

--

**_An Alley Way Near Brookings Academy, Meg and Andy's Fifth Date:_**

_After the explosive kiss, Andy immediately pulled away, and hailed a cab to Brookings. He didn't really talk to Meg, but looked out the window at all the surrounding buildings. When they got back to the campus, he paid the driver and walked Meg back to her building._

_"It's still early- do you want to watch a movie or something?"_

_Andy sighed, and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. He looked like something out of an Abercrombie ad, and Meg felt completely inadequate. She'd been so very on the fence about her date with Andy, even debating whether or not to cancel. At sixteen, she was really struggling with her life choices, and felt she was way too young to be making them. Her skating was at a turning point. She was starting to medal at international competitions, and she was traveling all over the world, only getting to Brookings every three weeks, stopping between her trips to Zurich and Moscow. She needed to focus on her skating- on being the best skater possible. _

_Andy got in the way of all that. He was gorgeous- one of the best catches on campus. Girls were literally throwing themselves at him, and for whatever reason, he was kind of intensely pursuing Meg. And she felt inadequate. In the world of figure skating, she was busty and struggled to keep her weight low. In the real world, she was flat compared to some of the girls Andy was friendly with. They were fun and interesting and involved in campus events, and she was just some stick figure girl who dropped in and out of his life. More than anything, it was the age difference which seemed so daunting. He was older, sexy and seemed completely unattainable. And Meg liked him way too much. He was a huge distraction; she'd been eager to get back to Brookings just to see him. And that made her nervous. Nervous made her act weird. _

_"I should actually get back to the crew house."_

_Meg looked at him in confusion. Against her better judgment, she'd gone all out for their date. She'd actually pulled out one of the dresses Addison had given her that had been in the back of the closet. It was a beautiful dark green halter dress that showed off her back and appeared to enhance a good deal of her front. She'd worn stiletto pumps, and left her hair down in big curls, feeling sexy for the first time in almost a month. _

_"Did I do something wrong?"_

_"No. No. You didn't do anything wrong. I just…ah, I think it might be better if we just stayed friends."_

_He was shuffling his feet, avoiding looking her in the eyes. Meg felt every insecurity come bubbling up._

_"Oh."_

_"Yeah.__ But, I mean, I just think, you know. I mean, I feel bad for really pushing you into this whole thing. I know I went overboard, with the flowers and the chocolates, and you clearly weren't into it, and I know you're really busy, so I feel bad for…pressuring you into it."_

_"But you didn't."_

_Andy gave a little grimace and rubbed one hand over his neck.      _

_"Meg, I had to practically hound you for a date. And I had a great time- I did. But I feel like every time we've gone out, you're just not interested."_

_"That's not true!"_

_"Meg, you've barely spoken. You don't talk about yourself, you've practically tried to hide everything about you. And when I do get you interested in something or I get to know you at all, you always retreat. You return about a third of my calls. I thought it was just you being shy at first- I know I'm so much older than you. But I thought maybe, it would work out if we were both interested."_

_"I am interested."_

_Sighing deeply, Andy fisted his hands in his pockets again._

_"I just think it's a little too complicated."_

_"Am I a bad kisser or something?"_

_He gave her a little grin, and looked at the sky, seemingly asking for help._

_"You're a great kisser. It was great. Fabulous, in fact. I just…I want more than just that. And I know it's ridiculous, but I really liked you and I thought that this might be different than all the other girls I know…but I don't mean that this was bad, in any way. I just think that maybe this isn't the best time…So, uh..I'll see you around, okay?"_

He leaned in and kissed her cheek, then moved to walk away, but Meg reached out and grabbed his arm.

_"I do like you. I like you so much. I've liked you since I first saw you."_

_"Meg-"_

_"No, really.__ I can't even tell you how thrilled I was. But you're scary to me. I've never had a relationship, and everybody in my life is telling me I need to concentrate on my skating. And I've…I've had such a great time with you. But it's hard for me to throw away everything people keep telling me. But I couldn't wait to get back here, just to see you. And I kept thinking that I didn't understand why you wanted this so much; I'm not like any of your other girlfriends. I'm never here, and when I am, I'm practicing."_

_"I don't care about that."_

_"Why me?"_

_He gave a little laugh, and cupped her cheeks with his hands. _

_"Why **me**, Meg?__ I saw you sitting on the bank, and I thought you were gorgeous. And we all went out for dinner afterwards and I thought you were funny and intelligent, and had the most beautiful smile I've ever seen."_

_"I want to try. I really do. Because I like you so much, it's interfering with everything in my life. Please. I promise, I'm going to just forget about everything else and just…go for it."_

_He smiled at her, then leaned in and kissed her. They stood there, for a few minutes, just kissing outside her building._

_"Maybe I will take that movie after all, if it's still on the table."_

_"Of course it is."_

_She swiped them into the building and they made their way to the elevator. It made Meg a little shaky to realize how close she had come to completely ruining the relationship. It also made her realize how awful she'd been acting. In her quest to protect her heart, she'd almost been a total bitch to Andy. _

_They took the elevator to the seventh floor, and Meg unlocked her room, leading Andy inside. Her dorm was infamous for being one of the most spacious on campus, and her seventh floor single, was extremely comfortable. She had the standard twin bed, desk, dresser, and closet, but had added a small tv stand as well as a 14 inch tv. She had a standing lamp, as well as a desk lamp (She hated the overhead florescent light), and a small refrigerator. Everything was tidy, with minimal decoration. Meg dropped her purse by the door, and put on the lamp. _

_"I have a bunch of movies."_

_It was kind of a must. She was constantly traveling with little means of entertainment. So, she had an outstanding collection with 125 dvd's, which she lugged around in a giant cd case. Pulling it off the shelf, she opened it, and watched Andy's surprise._

_"Wow. I think our entire house has maybe ¾ of this many movies."_

_They sat on the bed as they thumbed through the movie collection, trying to find something they would both like._

_"I fly so often and I have nothing to do in Moscow or Zurich, so I just kind of accumulate movies."_

_Andy arched an eyebrow. "Do you have the entire Disney collection."_

_Feeling a little self conscious, she blushed. "I like them when I'm really tired. After practice sometimes."_

_He just laughed, and dropped a kiss on her cheek. "I think it's cute."_

_"What does the Crew House have? Star Wars and the Terminator movies?"_

_"Pretty much, yeah.__ But I can appreciate Finding Nemo…okay, why don't you just pull out your favorite."_

_"I'm not going to make you sit through Gone With the Wind. What do you want to watch?"_

_"What else do you like?"_

_"Um…How about Tianic?"_

_"Titanic?" He smiled at her, absolutely enthralled with her little quirks. _

_"Yeah.__ I love that movie. And I have a VH player so we don't have to watch the sinking if we don't want to….however, I realize that it's a really romantic ridiculous movie, so if you don't want to-"_

_"No, no. It's great. I haven't seen it in…a while."_

_She put the movie in, and debated about turning the lamp off, then went with the slutty little voice in her head and flipped the switch so that the tv was the only light. Grabbing the remote, she walked to the bed, where Andy was lying, propped up by a pillow behind his back. She slipped her shoes off, and quietly sat on the side of the bed._

_"Is this awkward?"_

_He shook his head. "No. I do want to apologize about earlier, I don't usually act like a jackass-"_

_"You were right. I have avoided and been reserved with you. But it wasn't what I wanted to do. And I'm done with it now."_

_"Then come here."_

_He pulled her up so that they were both propped up, but Meg was pulled into his side. The movie started, and they made little comments as it progressed, laughing together when Meg shared bits of trivia. Slowly, they grew more comfortable, and Andy's hand wound its way through Meg's hair, or stroked her arm from shoulder to elbow. She was totally relaxed, and before long, was paying more attention to Andy than the movie. _

_Inevitably, Andy leaned his head down and softly kissed her. Meg turned her head up and rolled over even more, so that she was practically on top of him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as his wound around her waist._

_Instead of taking it farther, however, Andy continued to kiss her. They kissed and kissed, for what seemed like hours. Meg took no notice when the video finished; by that time, she was underneath Andy and had her dress bunched almost at her waist, they'd been rolling around so much._

_For Andy's part, he had never spent almost two solid hours just making out with a girl. Holding Meg felt right, and kissing her was his new favorite activity. She was soft and sweet and had surprised him that evening. He'd really been ready to write her off as just another girl who it didn't work out with. This, however, was a whole new turn of events._

_"I have curfew at ten-thirty."_

_Meg giggled, and her whole body shook against his. "You're a medical student!"_

_Laughing himself, he ran his hand up and down her thigh. "I know. But I'm an idiot so I'm still on the crew team, and I have a huge regatta tomorrow."_

_"Here?" _

_He nodded, kissing her neck, and nipping at her ear._

_"Yep.__ Against…Harvard…so, I have to go." _

_Meg groaned, and hugged him tighter. "Immediately?" _

_"Have you ever **been** to the Crew House? I can probably make it over there in ten minutes if I sprint."_

_"Well, it's only…ten-fifteen. So you have twenty minutes."_

_They both smiled, as Andy got up, and sat on the edge of the bed, buttoning up his shirt. Meg stood up as well, but he gently pushed her back down._

_"No, it's fine….are you busy tomorrow morning?"_

_She shook her head. "Nothing planned at all tomorrow. I was just going to catch up on homework."_

_"Can you come to the regatta?"_

_"I'd love to."_

_"Good. I'll see you there."_

_He leaned down and kissed her as she reached up on her knees to hug him tightly. She smelled like vanilla and cinnamon and some sort of flower. _

_"Goodnight."_

_He kissed her again, and left, hurrying to get back to the crew house. In her room, Meg squealed, and picked up her phone to call her friend Amilee. _

_--_

I thought that I might include some fluff at the end from Meg and Andy's days at Brookings…please please review!


	28. Back to Seattle

Sorry I've taken so long. Many updates to follow...

--

On Saturday afternoon, everybody gathered at the Carmichael house to watch Meg's long program. They had all seen the short skate performance; either recorded or online, and they had decided to get together for lunch and watch the second night of skating.

Andy made spaghetti, with homemade meat sauce, as well as bread and salad. Everyone arrived around 12:30 and sat around the island and table eating and talking. He explained the point system to Izzy and Alex and pulled out one of Meg's albums to show them all the different skating costumes she used.

"These are so pretty!"

"Yeah. And hella expensive too. I just sent the checks in yesterday for the newest ones?"

Derek laughed. "Yeah. That always hurt me too."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Come on. How much can one of these cost?"

"Well, her short program dress for this year is almost three thousand. But that's actually really expensive for it. Her long program is only fifteen hundred."

"For these tiny scraps of material?"

Andy just smiled. "It's ridiculous. I know. But the one for her can-can number has all kinds of stitching and beading. She wears them for Nationals, World Championships, and then hopefully the Olympics. But other than that, she wears pretty simple skating dresses."

The competition started, and they all turned their attention to the tv to watch the first few skaters. After that, they continued to talk and eat, breaking into the ice cream Andy had bought. Eventually, the program got to Amilee, who was the third to last skater.

Derek smiled a little, remembering Amilee as she'd been when she was a little girl. "How's Amilee been doing with her skating? And Lissa?"

"Lissa's been doing great. She won championships last year and the year before, and Amilee won the French Nationals as well as a couple big competitions."

"I'm excited to see her again."

Addison almost choked she was laughing so hard. "That's just because she started flirting with you when she was like ten years old!"

"That is _not _true."

Meredith and Addison shared a look. "Okay…"

"_Addison._ Let Derek enjoy the attentions of pre-teen girls. It makes him feel important."

Mark grinned at Derek, even as a pillow went flying towards his face. It was true, since Amilee had absolutely no shame (in a sweet way) and would flirt outrageously with Derek when he was around. It was nothing, however, to how she would flirt with Mark.

"She's a darling."

Even though the young girl had been a terrible flirt with her husband and best friend, Addison had always liked her.

"She's coming to visit soon, I'm sure. Most likely after the Olympics."

"Meg looked wonderful last night. I had no idea her short program had come along so well."

Derek had not only watched the competition, but after Lissa skated, had rewound the DVR to see Meg again. He always had to watch her competition skates a second and third time, because the first time he was at the edge of whatever seat he was in, terrified she would fall or make a mistake.

"I know. The workshop really pounded out a clean routine. She's going to struggle with her long programme when she gets home though. We were talking the other day, and it isn't nearly as polished as her short, even without the quad combination."

Meredith was intensely following their conversation;

"But, she was in the lead after last night? So she just has to do well tonight to medal, right?"

Andy nodded. "For sure. But at this level, they don't care about silver or bronze. If she doesn't get gold, she's going to be pissed. It's weird. Meg's closest to Lissa and Amilee- they're two of her best friends in the whole world. But if she loses to one of them, it's the same as losing to anybody else. They don't begrudge each other victory, but they want the best for themselves. And, after that, for each other."

"Mere, I told you she won this last year, didn't I?"

"Yeah. That's really cool. Where was it?"

"In London. Last year her programs were…Swan Lake for her long and…oh god, what was it Andy? For the short?"

"It was Habanera from Carmen aria. They were good programs, but her choreography this year is much more difficult."

Mark sighed, watching girl after girl on the tv. In his opinion. Figure skating all looked alike. It really did. But to him, Meg looked so different than anybody else. There was a spark about her that, in his biased opinion, made her stand out. She had always been like that; before figure skating, the Shepherds had put Meg in gymnastics to work off some of her energy. And she bounced around the gym, unafraid to try anything. When figure skating fell into their laps, Meg decided she loved it more than gymnastics, and committed to the cold sport. Like Derek, however, Mark held his breath every time she took a jump. He was a plastic surgeon; he fixed accidents, and he never wanted to have to fix her.

"What were they saying about her pairs skating last night?"

Izzy had watched after everyone had gone to bed, having needed to stay at the hospital. Derek answered her while Andy went to the basement to retrieve more beer.

"She had a partner for a while. Just a couple years; on and off. It was when she really started to travel. But she and Jonathan only did a few competitions each year."

"What happened?"

Derek shrugged. "I think they both didn't have the patience for pairs skating. Meg didn't like relying on him for everything. They didn't fight or anything, but Pavel and Jonathan's coach decided they would both be better off being completely single skaters. And, Meg had a major growth spurt when she was about twelve, and it made it really difficult for them."

"She's done so much. I can't believe she's only nineteen."

Andy came back up and distributed the beers to the guys, as well as Addison. He was so excited for Meg to return to Seattle, that the anticipation of watching her skate was making him antsy. Meredith noticed, and rubbed his back in a circular motion, then ruffled his hair.

"Look, only three more skaters before Meg. Let's watch them- Mark, put the sound up."

--

On Monday morning, around eleven, Meg got into a cab with Pavel. He directed the driver to Meg's house, and looked at his protégé anxiously as she stared out the window at Seattle.

"This has to stop."

She ignored him, instead pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her shins. Her hair had been straightened, and she wore a black headband with a blue AC/DC t-shirt and light blue jeans.

"Margarita, you have to let it go."

She turned to look at him, her eyes flashing angry sparks. "It _just _happened."

"But you are a skater. You have to move forward."

Meg sighed in frustration and raked her hand through her hair.

"I had it, Pavel. I was right there."

"Everybody has their days."

"I don't even know how it happened."

"You were going too fast and took too steep of an angle. You should be congratulating yourself on saving the combination at all."

She looked at him, about ready to erupt. "I barely landed the triple, turned the axle into a double and just about fell on my ass on the toe loop, which was also a double."

"But you didn't fall. That's the main thing. Lissa had a spectacular night, just like you had a spectacular programme for your short."

Rubbing her eyes, she tried to control her temper. But it had been running on high for the previous twenty-four hours and was difficult.

"Of course Lissa had a great night. She deserved to win. I just…I'm so angry with myself."

"Meg, your routine isn't there yet. It's part of why we put in the quads. You know that."

"I would rather have skated clean and gotten second then done what I did and ended up with second."

"Well, you have to forget about it."

She shook her head. "I can't. I hate that feeling. I never have it. The panic. I knew it the moment I left the ground."

"That's what makes you a smart skater. You salvaged it. Nothing to do now but work hard. And stop moping."

She pouted a little, but eventually lost the attitude, and they talked amicably for the rest of the ride to her house. Once there, she got out and grabbed her bag. He declined her invitation to come in for tea, and she keyed in the garage code as the cab left. Letting herself into the kitchen, she smiled as she saw the huge bouquet of sunflowers in a vase. Andy knew her fondness for sunflowers, and how much they brightened up her day. He was also anticipating her mood after losing first place at the competition and was using every trick in the book.

Dragging her suitcase upstairs, Meg put everything to wash, then jumped in for a shower. After getting rid of the grime of traveling, she put on one of her short black tiered skirts, and a tank top, and went down to the kitchen to start cooking. Andy had left a note saying everyone would be coming over for dinner and was eager to see her, so she decided to make a pasta casserole, and began to chop meat and make sauce.

Being back in her own kitchen made her feel better. Just being in Seattle had made her happier, and she was almost sure that by the time she saw Andy, the competition standings would be meaningless. Losing always made her crazy; especially when she made stupid mistakes. But she had to get her head on straight, and think about nationals.

After finishing up the pasta, she cut up some fruit and to make a milkshake, craving some natural sugar. She had just finished blending everything up, when the door from the hallway to the garage opened, and Andy walked in.

He was wearing jeans and a crisp white oxford shirt, and he slowly set his briefcase by the door as he entered the kitchen. Their eyes met, and Meg felt a overwhelming rush of love.

"Honey, I'm home."

That was all it took; she found herself running at him and in his arms. He kissed her as she wrapped her legs around his waist, finally able to hold her after a long long month. When they finally broke apart for air, she rested her forehead against his.

"I'm sorry about the Concert."

"No- no. It's fine. It doesn't matter."

She kissed him again, and buried her face into his neck.

"Oh my god- I missed you so much."

Andy smiled and pulled her even tighter. Seeing her again was playing havoc with his ever present emotional control. She was thinner, of course, but everything else was the same. In his opinion, there was nothing like seeing her smile in person. It could light up a room, it was so bright.

"I missed you too. Like you wouldn't believe."

They continued to kiss, laughing and hugging and savoring their reunion moments. Not seeing each other in a month, they clung to each other, eventually ceasing their laughter, and concentrating on the kisses that were getting deeper and deeper. And, eventually, Meg did something she'd never done before,

On the kitchen counter.

--

Three hours later, they were both showered and dressed. Meg had put on a dark red dress, and taken the casseroles out of the oven. Andy tossed a salad while she grated cheese and got the side dishes ready. She was so happy to be home that she was bouncing off the walls with excitement. Despite the setback of getting second place, she knew that she just needed to devote herself to her skating, and everything would fall into place.

The doorbell rang at six, and Andy opened it to find Derek, Meredith, Alex and Izzy on the other side. They tended to travel in packs. He had barely opened the door all the way, when Meg came flying down the hall and literally jumped on Derek. Even as Derek was carrying her and groaning, Meg was also wrapping her arms around Meredith, who was standing behind him.

"Oooooh. You're ENGAGED!"

She peppered kisses all over her dad's cheek and then attempted to do the same to Meredith, while Izzy and Alex stood several steps away, maintaining their distance. Meg hugged her father tightly, whispering how happy she was for him.

"Okay. You're breaking my back."

She laughed as he put her down, and launched herself at Meredith, standing on her tip toes to hug the older woman.

"I'm so so so glad you'll finally be family."

"It's only been a couple months!"

They both laughed, since it was true. It hadn't even been five months since Meg and Meredith had met.

"True. But when you're meant to be family, it hurts to prolong it! Oh, go on in. I made food!"

She turned her attention to Alex and Izzy, hugging the blond in a sisterly way, and kissing Alex's cheek.

"Awww, guys. It's so good to see you."

They all walked inside and hung out in the kitchen as Meg prepped the food to be eaten. Mark and Addison arrived just a little later, walking over from their house.

"Hello Hello. Come on in."

Meg embraced Addison like an aunt she hadn't seen in years, and then jumped on Mark. He gave her a bear hug and put her back on the ground, then sat himself at the island.

"Alright, Shepherd. Eatin time."

"Go sit in the dining room."

"Meg, you didn't have to cook a big meal. You must be exhausted."

She just smiled and shook her head.

"I love to cook. And I haven't been able to cook like I enjoy in almost a month. So it's a treat for me."

She herded them into the main dining room, and Andy helped her to carry the food in for them. Along with all the pasta and side dishes, she had made herself a high protein salad and blended another fruit milkshake with lots of whey. She had reverted to her old eating habits, and would need to adhere to them until the Olympics.

After they were all seated, they linked hands while Andy said a blessing. Though nobody but Meg and Andy attended church, they always said grace when they were all together. Despite semi regular church going habits, Meg and Andy weren't the uber religious type. She had always gone because it was an easy way to keep up some form of regularity in her life, which was so crazy. Andy had been raised in a catholic Boston family, and he went with Meg whenever she had been at Brookings.

"Lord, thank you for this meal, and for the safe return of Meg, so we could all be here today."

They started eating, and, unsurprisingly, all of the talk was divided between the wedding, and Meg's stay in Russia.

"You will help me plan it, won't you?"

Meg laughed at Meredith's face.

"Of course I will! I love doing stuff like this. Do you want to get together tomorrow night and talk about it? I'll come over and help you make something to eat."

Meg and Izzy were slowly teaching Meredith how to cook. It was a long, difficult process, and Izzy usually ran out of patience by the end of the evening.

"Great!"

Addison asked Meg about her outfits for the Olympics, and Meg about her skating costumes for the year.

"Oh, they're going to be finished soon. I'll need to have a fitting because I've lost so much weight. I'll probably fly out next week or so. She'll alter it for nationals, and if those go well then she'll alter them for the Olympics."

"What's your short program look like?"

Meg grinned. "Super detailed. It's cream with red and gold accents and embroidery. My long one is the total opposite. Dark blue chiffon with loose material that'll float when I'm skating. But we'll see how it all looks when I put them on."

"You're flying to New York next week? You just got back."

Alex looked at her like she was crazy. I have several appointments next week. I have to meet my chiropractor and my ankle and knees specialist, as well as to have a blood test done."

"For like, steroids?"

She nodded and ate some more of her salad, which she really found disgusting. Whey was not something she had ever become accustomed to, and despite what every ad said, she really _could _taste it.

"Yeah. I have blood work done every three months, but now I have special bloodwork to do if I want to skate at the world championships."

Alex looked a little impressed. "I had to do the same stuff for wrestling."

"I'm pretty used to it by now; it's actually a good system; I always have two samples drawn; the official one for testing, and one that my doctor runs for any blood deficiencies. Anemia and all that."

She continued to eat, forcing herself to drink more and more water to swallow her food. Andy rubbed her back and talked with Derek about the merits of buying a boat to take on the lake near his house. He and Derek were becoming quite chummy, in a very father/son-in-law type way. Mark usually joined in the fun. They gave Andy a hard time about his sports teams, and his clothes, and his little habits. And, like any good son in law, Andy took it heroically.

Meg was chatting with Izzy and Addison about her upcoming modeling jobs; she had a photoshoot for gap along with several other prominent American skaters, which would be shot in three weeks. They would be modeling all the winter and fall wear and be put on the bags people got at the store. It was one of the ways that the US was 'supporting' the Olympics, and Meg would be posing with other Olympians along with just the figure skaters.

After dinner, everyone went downstairs to hang out; Meg and played ping pong while Andy, Meredith and Izzy played pool. Addison and Alex chose to watch the football game that was on, and finish up some of the wine they brought down with them. There was a large pile of posters and framed pictures set against the wall, and Alex thumbed through them as he walked over to the pool table once the game was over.

"What are these?"

Meg looked up from her intense game with Mark. "Oh…those are just…some of the photographs –that is totally not allowed!...just some stuff I've posed for or had taken."

Alex delved deeper into them, separating them out so they were lined up against the wall, or as many as he could fit against one wall. There were a couple of a younger Meg standing on medal stands or in action on the ice. Then there were more of her in her later teens, and several of her on the covers of what looked like Russian or eastern European magazines.

"These are crazy! Why are they all down here?"

"We haven't done the trophy room yet. It's my project for Christmas."

Izzy arched an eyebrow. "The trophy room?"

"Oh yeah. Most athletes have one. Every medal, ribbon, marker or some sort for things they've won, along with pictures of them through the ages. Maggie's been dragging her feet about it, so it's my project now."

"I haven't been dragging my feet- it just isn't that important."

"We need to order the display cases for it."

"So where are all of your medals?"

Meg shrugged. "Most of them are in boxes in the storage room back there. It's not a very important to me right now. If I medal at nationals-"

"-Which you _will_."

"Well, then maybe. It's all set out for it too. It won't be a gargantuan one."

They continued their games for a little longer, but Meg was struggling to keep her eyes open. She'd flown home and hadn't really recouped any of her lost energy. So, everybody said goodbye, and left. She arranged time for dinner the next night with Meredith, then went up to take a very quick shower. When she got out, Andy was just coming in, having put all of the dishes to soak so they could be cleaned the next morning. He undressed, used the bathroom, and got into bed, where Meg was already buried under the covers. She opened her eyes just enough to kiss him goodnight, then nodded off into dream land. Andy put his lamp off, and rolled on his side to hug her to his body before he fell asleep as well.

--

Please review! Please please please!!


	29. Life

Here you go. Please Review

--

The next morning, Meg was at the skating complex by six am to meet Pavel. She did extensive warm ups before getting onto the ice and practicing for almost six hours. They would work for an hour on the quad, then work on technique for an hour. It switched on and off like that until she was tired and aching. The only good part was that she was making huge progress on the jump. It was becoming easier and easier as she dropped pound after pound. It helped that she had landed it several times before. It was just a matter of consistency.

By the time she was done with rink practice, she was dripping sweat and exceedingly sore. But she threw on her sneakers and ran on the treadmill in the workout room for almost half an hour as fast as she could. That was followed by an ab workout, until she was so sore breathing hurt. She left the complex at two, and went home to shower and make dinner for Andy. At four thirty she dressed in her yoga pants and a long spaghetti tank top, and drove downtown to her yoga class.

Meg had started at the class almost as soon as she moved to Seattle. Because of her hectic schedule at Brookings, she had never been able to take a regular yoga class. So she found a nice studio, and a class that was catered to young women. Almost immediately, she became friends with several of the girls who attended as well. They were in their mid twenties, and worked in the Seattle area. One of them, Sara, had grown up in Seattle, and had a sister who owned a flower shop. So, when Meg went to class and told them about the wedding over coffee afterwards, Sara gave her the name of her sister's flower shop. Meg went to the shop to check out the flowers, and immediately texted Meredith that she'd found the perfect shop to buy the flowers from.

Then, she went home and thumbed through her recipe's to find something appropriate that Meredith could make. Deciding on a chicken dish, she went to the grocery store and picked up all the ingredients, then made her way to Meredith's house.

By the time she got there, Meredith had just finished showering, and was ready to start cooking. Meg walked her through everything step by step, while Izzy ran to the store to buy every bridal magazine she could find. Derek was at the hospital working late on a case, and Alex was the on call resident, so they were both out. While everything was in the oven baking, the three women sat at the dining room table and laid everything out.

"Okay. I think it would be easier to just decide what kind of wedding and go from there. How small were you thinking?"

"Well, I'm an only child, I guess. And my mom was an only child, so I don't really have family I need to invite. Just hospital people. And Derek said you would know everyone who needs to be involved…"

"No, that's true. Okay. Let me think."

Meg began to write down names as she counted out loud. " Janna, Frank, the kids, that's five, Nancy, Matt and their's that's ten, Casey, Fran, Daphne and Tom plus the kids that's sixteen, the cousins and kids that makes…twenty-eight, Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Mary and Uncle Stephen, thirty two, Mark's parents and sister…that's thirty-five, plus Dad's mentor from college is thirty-six. "

"That's reasonable. Hospital people; Izzy, Alex, Mark, Addison, Cristina -"

"That's forty-one."

"Okay. Callie and George, forty-three and the chief and Adele, forty-five…Bailey and Hahn, that's forty seven. I should invite my roommate from Dartmouth, so that's forty eight. Plus you and Andy is fifty. Perfect."

Meg continued to write all of the names down, then put her pen down and grabbed her blackberry.

"Okay. So fifty people. Small wedding. What were you thinking for the reception and ceremony."

"Either afternoon or evening. I don't want a morning wedding."

Meg nodded and Izzy agreed. "Why don't you do an evening ceremony and a big dinner?"

"Izzy's right. Fifty's the perfect number for that, especially with so much family. You could have a nice dinner at a restaurant or something."

"That sounds perfect. Small, and maybe with some dancing? I think a small wedding would be nice."

"I agree. Do you guys have a date in mind?"

"December 10th."

"Even more perfect, just before the Christmas season, and we have all of November to plan. Okay. Have you and dad discussed a religious or civil ceremony?"

Derek, had, of course, been raised catholic, but Meredith hadn't been raised anything at all. And, after they got engaged, they had discussed their religious beliefs in detail.

"Well, we actually want to have a catholic wedding. We called the priest at 's, and he said that since your dad was Catholic, we could marry there if we did the pre-counseling program. And it's only six weeks long, so we have our first appointment on Tuesday. "

"That's perfect. So we only need to find a place for the reception? Do you have any ideas for that?"

Meredith shook her head. "Not really. I was hoping you and Izzy could help with that."

Izzy and Meg traded a look that scared Meredith a little, and she hastily put in that she wanted a low key wedding.

"Once again. Low key does not mean drab and boring. Now. Do you know colors? Okay. Izzy, what do you think?"

Izzy cocked her head and looked at Meredith. "I think purple is her color. Derek likes lavender on her."

"That's true. Is purple okay for the bridesmaids? We can look through different shades and just use it as an initial idea."

Meredith nodded. "No, that sounds great. I only was thinking that I wanted two brides maids, actually. Just Izzy and Addison. That sounds right for a wedding of fifty people, right?"

Meg nodded and Izzy looked at Meredith with tears in her eyes.

"You want me to be a brides maid?"

The bride only looked alarmed. "I want you to be my maid of honor. Don't cry about it!"

"But…what about Cristina?"

Meredith sighted and looked at her left hand, containing the fabulous engagement ring. She was so happy, she couldn't believe it. She had a family, finally, and there was nothing better than that. It was also a comfort for her to know, however, that Derek wasn't the answer to all her problems. She'd been in therapy and she'd worked through the Daddy issues and all her other issues, and understood that Derek was not the key to her happiness. Sure, she would be devastated if their relationship ended, but he was not more important than she was, and she could be happy just being…Meredith.

"Cristina and I have…drifted apart. She can't really get on board and be positive about this whole happily ever after thing."

It was the truth. Meredith had been trying so hard to learn how to trust, and Cristina had been a huge roadblock to that. Her failed relationship with Burke had made her even more skeptical of Meredith's relationship with Izzy. Meredith had also grown close to Izzy in the previous months, and understood how much Cristina had put the perky blonde down. She had grown apart from her former 'person' in the previous months, and realized that Izzy was now her 'person' and that she could also rely on a multitude of people, including Meg, Alex, Andy, Mark and Addison.

Her relationship with Addison had changed completely. Seeing the redheaded beauty with Mark was like seeing a totally different woman. Addison could be goofy and funny and very relaxed, and Meredith liked what she saw. She recognized that Addison was a warm hearted woman who wanted to love and be loved. Now that Mark was loving Addison the way she deserved, Meredith had grown close with her, and understood that she was one of her best friends.

"Well, she's wrong, because you and my dad are going to be happy forever. I just know it."

"I agree with Meg. You can't let Cristina get you down. This wedding is going to be wonderful."

Meg smiled at Meredith and Izzy, and pulled out her blackberry as Izzy opened the computer.

"Okay. So. We need invitations. Dresses. A wedding dress. A place to hold the reception."

Izzy began typing on the computer as Meg entered everything into the blackberry. "I think that in logical order, we need the reception hall first, and then we can go onto everything else. This is a small dinner, so you probably won't need to do stuff like fish or chicken and all that nonsense. I have practice early tomorrow and I'm out after that, so I'll start scoping out locations around Seattle."

"And I will start perusing bridal shops for the bridesmaid dresses with Addison."

Meredith nodded. "As far as I'm concerned, you can pick your own dresses. Just have them be somewhat comparable in color. You deserve to look lovely and like what you're wearing."

"Good. You know me though. I'll probably go through a ton and come home with a list of 27 dresses."

Meg smiled. "I'm sure you and Addison will be able to find something. You and I can start hunting for a wedding dress."

"I want something really simple. Not a huge skirt, more like an evening gown. I look okay in those."

Meg arched an eyebrow. "Meredith, it'll be your wedding day. Do you really think I'll let you look anything but fabulous? Do you want a designer dress, or-"

"Anything will do."

"I'll start looking."

Izzy continued to look through wedding tips on the internet. "Also, Meredith, your chicken is going to be ready in about a minute."

"Oh, shit!"

Meredith ran to the kitchen as Meg and Izzy traded looks and rolled their eyes. "Amateurs."

--

When Meg returned home that evening, she got on the computer and booked her tickets for the flight to New York. It was supposed to be a three day trip that was arranged around the photo shoots, and encompassed all the errands she needed to run.

"Are you going to stay with your grandparents?"

Andy was making brownies for one of their older neighbors' birthdays. Meg had wanted to do it, but he took over the project since she was so exhausted.

"I don't know. If I stay with them then I'll have to take the train into the city, or hire a cab and that's such a pain from all the way out there. You need more cinnamon."

"These aren't cinnamon brownies."

Meg just stared at him and he went to retrieve the cinnamon. She had her laptop set up on the island and was sitting on one of the kitchen stools as he cooked on the island and the counter tops.

"Where else were you thinking? Casey and Fran?"

"Yeah."

Meg had no idea how to drive in the city, or into the city for that matter. She had been able to navigate the streets of Norwell, the little town on the outside skirts of New York where Brookings had been located, but had never had any experience driving into the city itself. She even had a little trouble navigating the surrounding suburbs of Seattle, which was about twenty times smaller than NYC.

"That might be helpful. They live right there. And you can use Francesca's gym membership."

Francesca was a member at one of the most exclusive gym's in the city. It was such a fabulous place that Meg considered paying the exorbitant amount just to be a member and use it three times a year. Andy said no.

"There is that. I feel like Grandma and Grandpa would be sad though."

"Why don't you call Casey and ask if they can stay for a couple days? I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

Casey and Francesca lived in a four bedroom downtown loft apartment that was huge. Meg liked staying with them, especially after Derek left New York.

"You know, that's not a bad idea. Let me call her."

Twenty minutes later, after talking with her Aunts, Meg called her grandparents and asked them if they wouldn't mind staying with Casey an Francesca for a couple days so they could all hang out. They said yes immediately, and Meg was excited that she could have a relaxing couple days with family before her last few weeks of training for the Nationals and World Championships.

"Are you excited for the shoot next week?"

Meg nodded. "It'll be fun. I think it's a winter wonderland thing, so that will be cool. But if I make the team, then I'll be really excited for that shoot, because they sent out the list of who else is up on it. Apollo Ohno, and some other cool people. "

"That'll be fun. And you love those scarves they let you keep."

They grinned at each other, and Meg looked back at her computer.

"I think that I'm going to be able to land the quad for the nationals. And if not the nationals then definitely the championships. My lutz is better than the axle, and the toe loop is fabulous. I can land almost all of them, and I have the axle about half the time, but putting them together is going to be crazy hard."

"Has losing the weight made it easier?"

She nodded vigorously. "So much so. But I'll be glad when I can put it back on after the Olympics."

Andy's back was to her as he washed something in the sink, but she studied the sudden tenseness of his shoulders.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I definitely want to gain it back…because no matter what, my priority is being happy. I've changed my mind about a lot of things, actually."

He continued to wash dishes, keeping his voice and tone light and casual.

"Like what?"

Meg looked at her computer, then back at him. She had her glasses on and was looking through all of her e-mails and replying to the ones that required more than a paragraph.

"Oh, just things I always said. Not quitting till I get my gold medal. Not getting married before I win that gold medal…or…engaged, before I win…I don't really think the same way anymore…As well as understanding that ice skating isn't the end all, be all of life. I can be happy without skating, I just believe that this is my time to work hard and reap the benefits of years of work."

Andy shut the tap off and dried his hands as he turned back to the island.

"Well, that's a great way to look at it."

He didn't mention her declaration about the two of them and the fact that she didn't see the need to wait until she won a medal for them to get engaged or married.

"I feel better about everything now. It's a good perspective."

Smiling, he spooned the batter into the greased pan. "Well, for what it's worth, I believe completely, that you are going to win nationals and go on to the Olympics and I have no doubt whatsoever that you are going to get your gold medal."

"Thank you, baby."

He put the brownies in the oven, and walked over to her, kissed her forehead, and went to sit down in the living room area to watch the game that was on. Meg just smiled and went back to the computer and the e-mails.

--

Her training didn't get any less intense as the days went on. In fact, if possible, it got more intense. She was having trouble recovering each night because she was pushing her body so hard, and still losing weight at what seemed to be an alarming rate. She was monitoring everything, however, and still in taking high amounts of protein and vitamins and keeping relatively healthy; she burned all her carbs and used them up as energy while she skated and worked out, and other than that, subsisted on healthy and vitamin rich foods.

She was also scoping out places for Meredith and Derek to have their wedding reception. She knew that Meredith liked Italian food, but wanted a venue that wouldn't be too overtly extravagant or stuffy. That limited the number of places that Meg knew of, so she perused the downtown Seattle area looking for nice places they could hold the reception.

In the mean time, she had mock invitations drawn up that included the time and date of the ceremony and all the other necessary information, minus the restaurant. She dragged Andy, Meredith and Mark all over the city looking for decent places to eat, and made Derek send her a list of every place in Seattle he'd ever liked. At the end of the following week, she flew out to New York for her jam packed series of days.

Her first appointment was a general health check up with her doctor, who drew blood and sent it to the lab. She saw her chiropractor, her ankle and knee specialist, and even went to visit her dentist. Then, she met up with her grandparents at one of her favorite restaurants for dinner.

"Meg, you're so thin!"

She inwardly grimaced, but put on a broad smile for her grandmother. "Grandma, I told you I need to lose weight for this series of jumps. As soon as I have an outcome I'll put it all back. Besides, it's safer this way; on my joints."

Harrison just look grumpy about it, but Meg smiled adorably and went on to talking about the wedding. "Meredith is so excited, and we've been looking for a place to eat. She really wants advice on the invitations though, so I thought you could help, grandma. And she's still looking for a dress. And she wants you to know that the guest list is never finalized so if there's anybody you want to invite you just need to e-mail her."

Meredith was especially concerned about keeping Derek's parents involved in the wedding and not excluding them, even though it was always planned by the bride. Kathleen was touched by Meredith's constant inclusion of her in every little decision and Harrison thought she was a good sport to put up with his son, his grand-daughter and his wife. When they went back to Casey and Francesca's that evening, her aunt's greeted her excitedly at the door.

"Meg, you're finally here! You haven't been here in forever."

Meg absolutely adored Casey and Francesca. They were right up there with Daphne and Tommy as her favorite relatives. Casey was still dressed in her suit from the office, having shed the jacket and rolling up her sleeves, but Francesca was wearing long yoga or running pants and a tank top, as well as her glasses.

"Mom, Dad. We're so happy you guys decided to visit for a couple days."

Francesca and Casey weren't married, because of state law, but Kathleen and Harrison saw them as such regardless.

"Thank you, sweetheart. We're glad you two were able to have us. I'm always telling Casey that I wished I saw you more often, but the two of you are so busy!"

"I know. It has to stop. We've both been working so hard, but now that Casey's making a fast track to partner, we're thinking we'll both be cutting back on our hours."

"Good. And, how's everything coming with the adoption agency?"

They had started initial inquiries into adopting a child, though they were expecting the process to take the better part of two years. Neither of them were in a particularly big hurry; Casey couldn't have children, and Francesca wasn't sure she wanted to carry a child, so they wanted to try adoption first.

"It's going well. There's so much initial paperwork, and I have to do it in parts because it's so dense."

"It'll work out in the end, I'm sure of it."

They went into the living room and sat around, chatting and figuring out what the plan for the next few days would be. Francesca was taking the day off work (it was Thursday night) to talk to hang out with Kathryn and Harrison, and they were going to take a long walk around the city since Kathryn hadn't done it in so long. Meg had more than enough to do; she was meeting with the agency people at seven am to do the photo shoot, so she retired early to get her 'beauty sleep'.

At seven the next morning, Meg arrived at the studio to do the photo shoot looking slightly tired and a little grumpy. She hadn't taken her morning run since she would be going to the gym with Francesca after she was finished with the shoot, and so she didn't have her usual morning energy. The people from make up immediately got to her, and she greeted all of her figure skating friends.

The top ten figure skaters in the US had been asked to do the shoot; five from the men's side and five from the women's side. Meg know all nine of them, and liked eight of them; the only one she disliked was Nadia, a very bitchy skater who based out of Connecticut. The girls gossiped and chatted and generally caught up with each other, and when they went into wardrobe, Meg was put into jeans, a white sweater with capped sleeves, a matching hat and thin scarf set, and black leather knee boots. They were put onto a grey background set, and the photographer played music while they all interacted and he caught shots. They did a couple individual shots each, then were encouraged to interact naturally. After they got those group shots, they took a couple pairs shots, which Meg was completely comfortable with.

She did the lifts with Sean, one of the male figure skaters, and fell into the positions as if she had been doing them the day before. Meg enjoyed photo shoots. They didn't require a whole lot of energy on her part, and she had been told numerous times that she was a natural and that the camera 'loved her'. It didn't matter much to her, but it helped to pay the bills. And there would be pictures to put up on her web site. Francesca had hired somebody to build it and keep it up, and Meg was surprised that she had several thousand fans. And a fan club.

She went through several outfits and posing shots, and the entire shoot finished around four. Casey left the office early to spend some time with the grandparents, so Francesca and Meg went o spend some quality time at the gym. It was a haven for any athlete with all of the high tech equipment and monitors. After working her muscles extensively on several machines and taking a high intensity 'up-hill' run, she went to take a swim. Since there was a whole cardio workout room at the skating center, and she could run anywhere, Meg didn't keep a gym membership in Seattle. Therefore, swimming on a regular basis wasn't part of her workout routine. She loved swimming because it was such a great work out and left her feeling both exhausted and accomplished.

They returned to the apartment around eight, and found Harrison and Kathryn making dinner, while Casey helped. Fran and Meg went to shower, and after they finished, everyone sat down for a big family dinner, because Janna and Nancy had also dropped by with some of their respective children.

The dinner conversation centered on the wedding and the plans for it, and Meg found herself getting more irritated with her Nancy and Janna than she usually did. They were upset that Mark and Addison were both in the wedding, and made subtle comments that grated on her nerves. Meg then suggested that after her appointment with her dressmaker, they all go shopping. Janna and Nancy had to decline due to previous engagements for the children, but Francesca was up for it, and Casey was up for finding something to do with Harrison in the city.

After dinner, Meg showered and changed into her night clothes, and went onto the balcony to call Andy.

"Hey, Baby."

She smiled and asked him how his day had been. He told her about the interesting cases he'd had, and that he was on call that night. When Meg wasn't around, Andy was happy to trade for the night shifts. They discussed her day and the events at dinner, and what she was shopping for the next day.

"We're going to look for a wedding gown for Meredith."

Andy grinned, though she couldn't see it. "Don't you need Meredith for that?"

Rolling her eyes, Meg looked over the city. Fran and Casey had a fabulous view and a lovely terrace, just the right size.

"I know her size, and I probably have a better idea than she does of what she wants.

"Is that going to be our wedding gift? The dress? Because if you find a dress, I know it's not going to be something out of David's Bridal."

"Don't be ridiculous. We'll get them a proper gift. I might not even find anything for her at all."

"Whatever you say, sweetheart."

She made a face at his placating her, but moved on to her next topic. "I really think we should get a dog."

Andy sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes. He was sitting in the gallery, the only one there watching a routine biopsy.

"Meg, we've talked about this. And I agree. But I'm not going to live with what your idea of a dog is."

"Lhasa Opsa's are great dogs. "

"They're white balls of fluff."

Meg got all huffy. "**Excuse me**, I don't want a Doberman to cuddle up with on the couch."

" I never said a Doberman. And English bulldog-"

"Is heinously ugly and I won't have one in my house."

"Fine. What about an Akita?"

"Andy! A big dog will knock me over."

"A big dog is exactly what we need. You don't like being alone when I'm on call-"

"I don't want a tea cup dog, I just want something to cuddle with."

"And I just want something I don't have to worry about stepping on."

"Fine."

"Sweetie, I love you. But I want a big dog."

"What about a beagle?"

Andy grinned as he looked through the observatory window. "We always said we were going to get a golden retriever when we have kids, so why not just wait?"

"I guess."

"We can talk about it when you get home."

They talked for a little while longer, and then Meg went back inside and kissed everyone goodnight, and went to bed.

--

The next morning, Meg got up at seven thirty and had some fruit and water, then caught a cab to a down town tailoring house. The fashion district boasted people with perfect skills, and Addison had found a good seamstress years ago.

The secretary there told Meg to wait until Madame Caroleѐ got everything ready. The French dressmaker had worked for numerous high fashion brands until deciding to open up her own business for commissioned outfits/gowns. Meg had commissioned dozens of skating costumes, and liked Madame Caroleѐ because she made beautiful skating gowns that fit perfectly.

Minutes later, the secretary showed Meg into the changing room, and a dressing girl helped her into the outfit for her short program. The fabric was red silk with gold embroidery and a goldish netting, and was beautifully detailed. The skirt was made of pleats of red and thin strips of gold, and the arms were capped with red material hugging the undersides of her arms with straps across the arm at the elbow and wrist (in the Grecian style), but the rest of her arm was gold netting with sparkles imbedded. The costume was the most elaborate one Meg had ever commissioned. The back was done to look backless with a tiny bit of red down the sides at the back, but the netting contained well placed sparkles. At five foot five, Meg was always striving to appear as petite as possible on the ice, and the outfit achieved that. The waist was higher and the skirt several inches longer than it would usually be, which confused the eye.

As Meg slipped into it, the assistant zipped it up the side. The entire costume was one piece, and the zipper hidden on the inside of the side with a silk overlay to cover it. It required a delicate, long hook to pull it up, and there was no way Meg could get in or out of it by herself.

Once she was in, she was shown into the viewing room. There was a pedestal surrounded by a six fold mirror. Madame Caroleѐ was already there waiting, and she gave a little clap when Meg entered.

"Voila! C'est magnifique, no?"

"It's very beautiful. You've really outdone yourself this time."

She stepped up the pedestal, and Madame Caroleѐ immediately got to work.

"You have lost so much weight! We're going to take it in all over. Hands up."

For almost half an hour, Meg patiently stood there while Madame Caroleѐ made adjustments, and dictated notes to her assistant. Then, Meg went back to the dressing room and the assistant helped her to undress, and put on the costume for the long program. It was a dark blue/rainy chiffon that had sweeping swaths of fabric. It appeared to be a deep halter top, the kind that plummeted to the waist, but actually had netting between the two pleats of fabric. It was different than her other outfits in that it was not skin tight, but had bunched fabric. Underneath that, however, it was all skin tight. The skirt was longer than one Meg had ever worn, reaching just below her knee in sewn together triangles. Unlike the short program skirt, the fabric was chiffon, and uneven lengths, while the short program skirt was all one length, and designed to fly out in a perfect disk when Meg was doing one of her spins.

The blue outfit was more of a dress, tailored so that it would look beautiful when she skated, and made her stand out from all of the other outfits.

Madame Caroleѐ again adjusted it, and made lots of notes to her assistant.

"It will be easy to take this one in. The netting is stronger and the fabric gives us leeway."

It took another forty minutes with that outfit before Meg was helped to change again, and put on the red babydoll dress that she'd worn that morning. After discussing a second appointment with the secretary, she left the fashion house, and caught a cab to a popular breakfast eatery that they had all decided on the previous evening. Everyone was just getting up as she arrived, and after telling them how well her appointment had gone, they split up; Casey and Harrison to Barnes and Noble to do some shopping, and Meg, Francesca and Kathryn to the fifth avenue area to do some shopping.

They wandered through the stores; Sacs and Tiffany's and the other shops that were there, trying on different outfits. Meg bought several dresses, as did Francesca, before they decided to browse the special boutiques.

They first hit the Alexander McQueen store, because Meg wanted to buy a new pair of galoshes and liked a pair they had. They were black and white striped, and instead of carrying them, she had them shipped to the house in Seattle. They looked through the on stack wedding collection, but Meg didn't find anything that she felt would be Meredith. After Alexander McQueen, they hit the Donna Karen boutique, where Kathryn bought a beautiful green dress for the wedding, and Francesca got an overlay coat. They hit several more boutiques, including Meg's favorite store (Carolina Herrera boutique), as well as Michael Kors and the small name boutiques.

"Ready to go to the restaurant?"

They were all set to meet up with Casey and Harrison for dinner, before Meg's flight out that night. She was disappointed that she hadn't found a single wedding dress she'd liked, in all the shops they'd been in. There was one more place that she wanted to visit, however.

"Do you think we can get into the Vera Wang store?"

Kathryn looked at Francesca; "To view the gowns? I don't know. I've heard they do it by appointment."

Francesca shrugged. "We might as well try."

They caught a cab to the store, and were shown upstairs to talk to the woman working. Francesca went in to talk to her, and they came back to Kathryn and Meg smiling. "We can look around, but they close in forty-five minutes."

"That's fine."

They split up to look around, and Meg thumbed through the dresses. It was easy to eliminate gowns, because a lot of them were big and puffy. She saw a few gowns that she thought Meredith might like, but it was twenty minutes later that she finally saw the one.

After a day of shopping, Meg hadn't expected to find the perfect dress, especially so early in her search (she and Meredith had gone shopping three or four times already). But it was hanging on the rack, in between two enormous balls of white puff, looking like the perfect gown for Meredith. It was a long and white, with a beautiful sweetheart, two straps making a v to the bust, and a decent hem at the bottom that would give just enough volume without giving too much.

"Grandma. Fran. I found it."

The other two women hurried over, and Meg pulled the dress out. "It's just right for her. Size four, if it's too big we can easily get it taken in."

"It's beautiful."

Francesca agreed, and they discussed the gown. "I feel like I just want to buy it, and if she doesn't like it I can always have it returned."

"That's true. I mean, it's stunning. And Meredith would look stunning in it."

"I'm going to get it."

"Do you want help?"

Kathryn flipped over the tag to look at the price. "It's four thousand."

Meg shook her head. "No. I love it, I want to buy it for her. I'll put it on the AMEX."

They took the dress and paid, though Meg made sure the woman explained the return policy. Then they had it boxed and wrapped, and Meg carried it out, along with her other packages. "I'm so glad I flew first class this time. It was the only ticket I could find."

Meg usually liked to fly business class because she thought that first class was an exorbitant amount for amenities she didn't need. But in first class, she could take an extra carry on with her. They stopped at the apartment to repack her carry on, and put the purchases of the day in her suitcase. After that, she only had the carry on suitcase and the package with the dress, which was manageable. Then, they took a cab to the restaurant, where Casey and Harrison were already seated.

"Hey! Are we late? I'm sorry!"

"Not at all. Dad and I just got here. We went to the bookstore, had lunch, saw a movie, then went to another bookstore."

"I perused books, your daughter worked the entire time."

Harrison kissed his wife's cheek and she sent a chastising look at Casey.

"You work too hard, sweetie."

Sighing, Casey accepted Francesca's kiss and leaned back in her chair as Meg slid into the seat across from her. "I know. But things are so crazy. I thought that at this level my workload would decrease, but it's only gotten worse because I have more high profile cases."

"Well, maybe you should look into moving. To Seattle."

Casey looked to Francesca in confusion, and the beautiful brunette smiled. "Meg and I were talking today."

"Oh really?"

Francesca nodded. "We've been talking about adoption for years now. I thought we might talk about making it a possibility. I don't want to raise kids in the middle of the city, and moving to the suburbs would only make our days crazier. But if we moved out to Seattle, we could easily have more relaxed schedules. I mean, of course the firm you joined wouldn't be as high profile…"

"I think it's a good idea. We should look into it. We'd be closer to Meg and Der and Mark."

"But farther from us."

Casey nodded at Harrison. "That would be bad."

Kathryn patted Harrison's hand. "I think maybe we should think about getting an apartment in Seattle. Half of our family is there anyway."

"The better half, I think."

"Thank you, Margaret."

"No problem, Grandpa."

They continued to eat and talk, and afterwards, went home to get a good night's rest because Meg's flight left early the next morning.

Everyone saw her off at the gate, hugging and kissing and promising to be there for the national's competition in Connecticut. As she left New York, she wondered how long she could keep up her lifestyle; constantly going and jet setting and skating. It was exhausting, and she wanted the normalcy of a 9 to 5 job. Somehow, she understood she would never have that kind of life, and that she just needed to get past the next few months before making any big decisions.

--

Pleeeeeaze review!!


	30. Downhill

I hope you guys are liking it. I'm feeling inspired….

--

Meg got to Seattle about two pm, and saw Mark waiting for her at the gate. He hugged her and kissed her forehead.

"Hey, Pineapple. Price Charming got stuck in surgery."

Mark had always called her ridiculous nicknames, usually involving various fruits. She had been Princess Pineapple for almost six months when she was younger, and refused to eat any other fruit.

"Thanks for picking me up."

"No problem. I was thrilled that I got the opportunity to pick up my favorite niece that I haven't seen in all of five days-"

"Don't worry. You're invited and I'll be making dinner for everyone."

"That's my girl!"

--

Meg made a huge dinner for everyone, and they discussed her trip to New York. She left out the bit about the wedding dress to Meredith, but told Izzy and Addison that she thought she had found the perfect one. Andy was continually watching every bite Meg put in her mouth and encouraging her to eat more, while she was trying to stick to her extremely strict diet.

After dinner, they all migrated to the living room, though Meg told Addison, Izzy and Meredith that she had something to show them. They followed her upstairs, and once they were in the master bedroom, Meg locked the door behind them, and turned to Meredith.

"Take off your clothes."

"What?"

Addison and Izzy smiled, but Meg just smirked. "Come on. Take them off."

"Why?"

"Because I said so. Now do it. Don't make me take them off for you."

Begrudgingly, Meredith undressed to her underwear and bra, and put her hands on her hips. "Okay. What now."

"Now close your eyes."

"Close my eyes?"

"Do you want me to make Addison blindfold you."

She looked like she would do it, so Meredith closed her eyes, and waited. Meg took the box out from under the bed, and undid the protective wrapping and wrapping paper inside. When she took out the dress, Izzy had to restrain herself from gasping, and Addison touched the dress cautiously.

"Arms up."

Meredith followed the directions, and the three women took the dress to Meredith and walked her to in front of the body length mirror in the corner of the room. Then they helped to slip the dress over her head and fluff it out properly at the bottom.

When they had everything ready for Meredith, they stepped back a little bit.

"Okay. You can open them now."

Meredith opened her eyes and blinked a few times, not believing what she saw. The gown fit her perfectly. It embraced every aspect of her figure, and looked beautiful on her.

"Where did you-"

"It's a Vera Wang. I saw it. I was looking all day for something, and I saw it and I just knew it would be perfect. Do you like it?"

Slowly, Meredith nodded.

"It's beautiful."

"You look gorgeous, Mere."

Even Izzy realized that she paled in comparison, and Addison echoed the praise.

"I love it. It's just…you."

Meredith smiled at the redhead in thanks, and turned a little in the mirror to see the back. It was a beautiful dress, and perfect without a veil.

"Thank you."

Meg hugged one of the posts of the bed, and simply smiled. "We don't even need to have it altered that much."

"No, it fits almost perfectly."

Meredith really was beautiful. Meg could just picture the perfect hairdo, and knew that her future step mother would be absolutely beautiful on her wedding day.

"I'm glad you like it."

"I love it…What do I owe you for it."

Shaking her head, Meg jumped up on the bed to sit at the front, dangling her feet over the end. She looked so small that Addison was momentarily struck by how much weight she had lost, turning her attention to her former step daughter.

"Nothing. It's a gift. If you really want, it can be your something new, though I really think that's silly, to have the dress count in the tradition."

"Meg, you have to let me-"

"Don't even think about it. This is my gift to you."

"But-"

"Seriously, Mere. I wanted to buy you this dress. You get to wear a Vera Wang at your wedding for free.  Enjoy it."

"Okay."

They stared at Mere for another couple minutes before she declared that she had to take the dress off before she ruined it in some way. Meg wasn't sure how well that was going to go since Meredith wanted to host the reception at an Italian restaurant, but she wisely said nothing.

"Thank you, Meg. Thanks to all of you, for doing this with me. Being in the wedding. And helping to plan the wedding. It means a lot."

"Of course, Meredith."

They all hugged her, and then helped her out of the dress. Since Derek was living at her house, they all decided that the wedding dress should stay in the back of Meg's closet so that Derek wouldn't see it until the wedding day. Once she was back in her jeans and sweater, they all went downstairs, and Meredith sat on Derek's lap.

"I have a wedding dress."

"What?"

"Meg bought me a wedding dress. A Vera Wang."

"Wow, Baby."

"It's perfect. Totally perfect. Meg found it in New York."

Derek looked at his daughter and fought back a wave of emotion.

"Thank you."

Andy brought out strawberries and ice cream for everyone, and Meg busied herself with putting the remnants of dinner away and loading the dishwasher. When Andy had finished handing dessert out, he walked over to the island where Meg was putting everything into take home tupperware containers.

"What do you want?"

She shook her head as she tried not to spill the food. "I'm fine."

"We're all having dessert."

"I'm already full."

"You barely ate anything at dinner."

His voice was starting to become frustrated, though he tried to keep his tone light and the volume down.

"I'm not having anything else for dinner, Andy."

"You can pick. Apples or strawberries."

"I don't want anything."

He stared her down, intent on getting some more food into her, hopefully something with some sugar.

"Meg, you need to have something else. Natural sugars aren't going to hurt you."

"I had plenty at dinner."

"Adding more whey doesn't make you full."

"You wouldn't know. Stop pushing me about it."

He sighed, and became aware that everyone else was looking at them with uneasy stares and curious faces. Meg glared at him and went back to pouring the food into the containers.

"I'll have an apple. Cut it up."

"Thank you."

He ducked his head to kiss her cheek from behind, but she jerked away and refused to look at him. He emitted a long sigh, and went to cut the apple for her while he asked Alex if there was a game on that was worth watching.

--

The next weeks were spent in a crazy blaze of exhaustion. Meg was working as hard as she possibly could, and trying to plan for the wedding. They found a perfect place to hold the restaurant; a downtown Italian eatery that had an upstairs that was the perfect size. It had a dance floor, and the walls were covered with white Christmas lights and candles that sparkled in a charming way. Shortly thereafter, she and Addison found the perfect bridesmaid dresses. They were a light shade of lilac with fitted busts and different neckline cuts. Addison's would be a straight bust with spaghetti straps, and Izzy's would be a halter cut. Izzy loved it a lot, so they bought the dresses and sent it to an alteration shop for slight adjustments.

Meg was also trying to shed as much weight as possible. It was difficult after a couple weeks because couldn't seem to shed the last five or so pounds she needed to. It was also difficult because she and Andy were fighting more than they ever did usually. He was constantly trying to get her to eat more, and Meg was constantly trying to avoid it under his watchful glare. It made him on edge and the house was constantly shimmering with a little bit of tension. He disapproved of her shedding the weight so fast, and  it was difficult for him to sit by and watch her 'waste away' in his opinion.

He also believed that she was taking on too much, between the skating and planning the wedding. Her reply was that she needed to help Meredith and that she couldn't back out at that point. He just pointed out that she was spreading herself to thin.

She had stopped cooking big dinners because she didn't have the energy anymore, and she would really only be cooking for one, so it was a little pointless. She went to practice, then worked out (usually before and after), then showered and worked on wedding stuff either at home or at Meredith's. The invitations had to be designed and the menu planned, and all of the little details taken care of; flowers to be picked, activities for that week and other tiny details that needed to be attended to.

The skating was improving very fast. Every day was precious and she and Pavel were using every moment to work on technique or jumps or usually both. Everything about the routines was scrutinized and she was benefiting from the weight loss, but still believed she needed more. She made an appointment with her doctor to discuss it, and came home from the appointment dejected and nervous about what to tell Andy.

So, she made a big dinner. Set the kitchen table beautifully and lit candles, with all of his favorite dishes in preparation for what was to come.

When he finally walked in, he looked exhausted. His days at the hospital were difficult and he was constantly lacking from sleep and energy, on top of worrying about Meg so much. He opened the door from the hallway to the garage and unzipped his leather coat.  As he hung it up, he noticed the dinner table, where the candles provided the only light in the room.

"Hi, baby."

He looked at her warily, momentarily surprised. She hadn't cooked a full meal in weeks, and it made him slightly nervous that the kitchen table was set up like it was their official anniversary. The only difference was that Meg was dressed in Capri length leggings and one of his old, super shrunk, Brookings Crew Team shirts.

"How was your doctor's appointment?"

He threw his keys on the island and went to the fridge to grab a beer, even though she had set out wine. Meg just swallowed compulsively, and nodded. "It was fine. My blood work is good, and my iron levels are high."

He nodded, and sat down at the table, spearing one of the stuffed chicken breasts that she'd prepared, to bring it onto his plate. "What's with all this?"

Meg shrugged. "I haven't made dinner like this in a while, so I thought I would."

Andy raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "That's nice. I don't really see the point, though, since you're not going to eat it with me."

"Andy-"

"Oh come on Meg. Spit it out. You're a terrible liar and it's written all over your face. What is it?"

She sighed, knowing what was going to follow was going to be unpleasant. Andy was usually a soft tempered person, but occasionally he got usually crabby; mostly when he and Meg were fighting.

"The doctor thinks that my weight loss is about as far as it can go with just exorcise and healthy diet."

He nodded, clearly not liking where it was going.

"Even with the low hormone birth control I'm on, it's still causing me to retain about eight pounds."

"So what? You want to go off the birth control?"

"I still need to lose a couple pounds."

"I understand that. How long are you thinking? One month? Three months? Till the Olympics?"

His voice was increasing with each sentence, and Meg winced.

"Andy-"

"Don't, Meg. Just stop and talk to me about this. You're living on less than fifteen hundred calories a day and burning god knows how many. You're slowly killing your body, and now you want to go off your birth control."

"I know this is going to change things between us for a while-"

He banged his hand on the table, causing Meg to jump, and stood up. "God damnit, meg. You think this is about the sex? Fuck that. This is about us. About you. It's not about giving me a fucking blow job any kind of shit like that."

"Andy, I'm healthy-"

He gave an odd, sarcastic sort of laugh.

"This isn't life, Meg. Counting individual calories and adding whey to everything just to get energy? I'm a fucking doctor, not an idiot. So don't treat me like one. You're running on empty and I can see it."

"Stop it. You know how important this is to me. I've working my whole life-"

"Your gold medal isn't worth your life. It's like living with a zombie. You can't keep pushing yourself like this. Between training and planning the wedding-"

"The wedding is almost completely planned. You know how it works, Andy. It's a formula."

He glared at her. "It's a slow form of Russian Roulette. The formula isn't healthy and you know it."

One of the skating practices was to keep skaters underweight and as petite as possible. Then, before competition, they would quickly gain enough weight to be allowed to skate. The result was a burst of energy that helped them enormously the week or two weeks before the competition. It was a disastrous process on their bodies, being in a constant state of flux.

"But it _works_, Andy. It may not be great for us, but it works."

Shaking his head, he didn't believe what he was encountering.

"Can you even hear  yourself?...It's like we're back at Brookings, Meg. Your ribs are showing and you're too skinny, and I'm begging you to get healthy. Only that time, you were wanting to get better."

They were both silent for a moment, then Andy left the table and grabbed his keys.

"Where are you going?"

He looked at her, completely dejected. "Go off the birth control. I need to get out of here."

He left Meg standing there among beautiful candlelight ad a fully set table. She stood there for a long time, and eventually crumpled onto the chair and cried, not sure how she was going to get through the next few months.

--

Okay, you know the drill.

Please review.


	31. Preperation

Meg went off the birth control for two reasons. First, she had to lose the weight. Second, she couldn't 'not' after the argument. She and Andy rumbled about in stony silence for a few days, compounded by the fact that Meg saw her three month supply of birth control in the bathroom trash the next morning, as well as all the condoms that were in the house. The message couldn't have been clearer.

So, Andy overworked at the hospital, and Meg went to Meredith's house to go over wedding plans. For several days, nobody noticed the huge argument Meg and Andy were having, and when they did, nobody could pry out the reason. Meg's huge calendar was color-coated and booked solid. She had just over three weeks to Nationals, Championships the weekend after, then two weeks between that and the wedding, followed by two weeks until Christmas. Every day was accounted for, and the calendar was set up in the kitchen on the counter, against the wall. Andy eyed it with distaste every time he walked in, but said nothing.

At the skating complex, every moment was precious. Meg and Pavel worked and worked, fine tuning her technique as well as working on her jumps. Then, two weeks before the competition, Pavel made an executive decision. The quad jump just wasn't going to be ready for the Nationals competition, so she would keep the original routine. If Nationals went well, then they could afford to be risky at the Championships, and she would try it out there.

Pavel worked Meg to the bone. He stood on the ice, barking orders in Russian and critiquing her every move. When she botched something up royally, he would swear in Russian and yell some more. Her muscles cramped constantly and she was always in leg warmers to keep them heated.

She still worked on the wedding plans. On one outing, Meg and Addison found the perfect bridesmaid dresses. A light shade of lavender, they were the same shade, but cut differently. Addison's was a boat neck with spaghetti straps to a medium back length, while Izzy's was halter cut to a high backing. Both dresses had well fitted bodices and flared out a little to hit them at mid knee. They were beautiful, and Izzy loved hers, so they were bought and sent to the tailors to be slightly altered.

Meg's dress was found at another boutique, a dark purple shade that did some good in disguising her think form. Once the dresses were taken care of, Meg got to work with the men about their tuxes. They were ordered from Hugo Boss because Derek refused to wear Valentino, and Mark didn't want to 'outshine' the groom. Cousin Jason from New York got his fitting there, and the suits were to be delivered in the second week of November.

More than anything, Meg hated apologizing. Instead of making up with Andy, she ignored the problem. They lived in boring, hungry, sexless existence, not really arguing, but keeping the tension high. Andy wanted to reach out to Meg, but he couldn't find the way to do so. One thing was clear, however; they couldn't go on in the same way forever. SO, when he was done with work, he began to go to the ice arena and watch her skate. He hadn't been in months, and the difference was startling. Her jumps were more beautiful- no longer a struggle. Everything looked beautiful and graceful and effortless. Her long program was the same way. As a 'slow' piece, she had to control all of her movements, and for the first time, she really was. And, as much as Andy hated to admit it, the weight loss looked good on the ice. Meg had shown him pictures of the skating outfits, and they would be spectacular on the ice. Everything Pavel was saying was right. Meg's short program had to be perfect and flawless. If she could manage that, then nail her long program, there was no reason she wouldn't take the gold medal.

After that, the tension around the house was much better. Meg was eating raw vegetables like there was no tomorrow, and in the two weeks before the nationals competition, began to increase her calorie intake. There was no question that she was ready for Nationals, and the quad was even looking good for World Championships.

The day before she was to fly out of Seattle, Meg had a big dinner for everyone. The next morning was Monday, and she would fly to New York for a fitting and practice there for a three that she would go to Connecticut for the competition. Everything was set up for her; Friday morning, Derek, Meredith, Mark, Addison and Andy would fly to New York and spend the night with family, then drive to the arena in Connecticut the next morning with the Grandparents, Casey and Francesca. Daphne and Tom were also flying to New York Friday night, and driving down with the big group, but were scheduled to fly back to California Sunday evening out of Hartford, just after the long program. The Seattle group would fly home, while meg returned to NYC with her grandparents and Pavel to fly out of La Guardia for Copenhagen. Derek, Mark and Andy would fly to Copenhagen on Thursday morning, since the championships would be held Friday and Saturday night. Then, everyone would fly back to Seattle on Sunday afternoon. It was going to be a crazy couple weeks, and nobody would be more exhausted than Meg.

She was all packed up in a great suitcase that contained all her clothes. When she traveled, she always carried her skates and costumes as carry-on luggage, and checked everything else. To avoid hassle, she was also booked first class to Copenhagen from New York.

When everyone was assembled in the dining room for dinner, Derek offered up a toast.

"To Meg, may the next two weeks be entirely successful and devoid of any stress. You're amazing and we can't wait to see you on that podium."

Everyone drank and watched Meg blush under all the attention. Things with Andy weren't entirely patched up, but they were okay. Andy was mostly worried about her health, and didn't want her to do everything she had been doing for nothing, were she not to make the team.

Dinner was delicious and everybody was excited for the next few months. Meredith and Derek's marriage counseling class was going well, and both of them were thrilled for the wedding. The house was built and they were furnishing it with the essentials, since they were moving in after the wedding. Meg was in love with their house and was eager to do more shopping with Meredith after the wedding.

The dinner didn't last long; Meg had to be at the airport at six am. Everyone kissed and hugged her good luck, and Izzy and Alex told her they would be watching on tv. Izzy desperately wanted to go to the competition, but the chief couldn't afford to let any more residents off.

Meg accepted all the well wishes and went upstairs to take a long bath. Andy cleaned everything up and entered the master bedroom just as Meg climbed into the bath.

"Can I join you?'

She nodded and he undressed to join her, pulling her against him.

"I'm so glad all this craziness will be over soon."

He kissed her forehead and poured some more bubbles into the tub.

"You still have the Olympics in February."

"But Nationals and Championships and the wedding?"

He chuckled and kissed her neck. "I know. Just three more weeks and you can concentrate on one thing."

Meg nodded, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it baby. I know how important this is to you. To both of us."

They stayed in the bath till the water cooled, then dried off and got ready for bed. "Andy, what if I don't place third in Connecticut?"

They were in bed, with all the lights off. Andy pulled her tighter. "You're going to get first. But nothing will change. I'll still love you."

"Okay."

And she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Andy drove her to the airport, where they met Pavel. They talked for a couple minutes before he kissed her goodbye. She and Pavel got past security and waited by their gate patiently. Meg put on her ipod and listened to her entire Regina Spektor collection before they were called to board, and once they were on the plane, she drank an entire bottle of water before going to sleep. She barely flinched when they refueled in Chicago, and slept the entire way to New York. Upon landing in the city, Pavel took their bags to the hotel while Meg went to be refit with Madame Carolee. Everything was perfect on the short programme outfit, but the long programme costume needed slight adjustments. Meg took first outfit with her and agreed to come in the next morning for a last fitting. She took the red silk to the hotel, where Pavel had reserved them a suite with two bedrooms. Hanging the dress up, she hailed a cab to the training facility.

Pavel had everything ready for her, and she changed into a dress leotard and her skates, then met him on the ice. Scarlett, her choreographer, was there, and Meg gave her a big hug.

"Hey, babycakes. You're so thin! It doesn't suit you."

Meg grinned at her. "Yeah. Andy doesn't like it either."

Scarlett just smiled. "Let's see this kick ass routine I choreographed."

Scarlett stood at the side to watch, and Pavel started Meg's music. When she had finished both of the routines, she caught her breath, and waited for more instructions.

"Maggie, show her the quad jump."

Meg went to one side of the rink and took the lead in to the jump. She landed the quad, the triple lutz and loop, and skated to a stop in front of a smiling Scarlett.

"Wow. Another couple months and that's easily a quad combination. How's the quad loop?"

Meg nodded. "Great. Easier than the axle, that's for damn sure."

"I imagine the lutz is that way too?"

"Oh yeah. The axle is really the bitch. It's the outside leg that's the problem."

Scarlett worked with Meg and Pavel for several hours, helping her with her technique. They took a late lunch, and got back on the ice. That evening, Meg had an appointment with a masseuse she saw whenever she was in New York. Kim was a Swedish massage therapist who specialized in working with athletes.

First, she stretched Meg out completely. The process took an hour and slowly relaxed all of her muscles. Then, Kim gave her a deep tissue massage and re-stretched her out. It was at times excruciating, but Meg knew that when she woke up the next morning, her body would feel fabulous.

After that, Meg met up with Casey and Francesca for dinner. Pavel joined them as well, and they had a very relaxing evening.

Unlike so many skaters on the tour, Meg got along very well with her coach. Pavel had always been supportive of Meg, and there had never been any kind of hesitation on Derek's part, or thoughts to get a new coach. So, while Pavel drilled and molded Meg in practice, he was quite close with the Shepherd family off the ice.

He could carry on conversation very easily with any member of Meg's family, discussing art or politics or books, and they had always respected his authority over Meg. His wife, Nicole, had been a pairs skater, and the two had met at an Olympic qualifying competition some forty-five years earlier. During the bulk of Meg's tenure with Pavel, Nicole had traveled with them, and had her own coaching job at the Zurich Skating Club. She had done most of the pairs coaching when Meg had been skating with Jonathan, but had retired quickly after that to do occasional workshops and clinics, rather than full time devotion to one couple.

She had stayed home since the move to Seattle, though she often talked to Meg whenever she called Pavel. Two of their children lived in Seattle with their families, and in the late afternoons, Pavel usually babysat his younger grandchildren. It was nice to see him so relaxed off the ice, and Meg hoped that when he retired after the Olympics, he would really be able to lounge around.

After dinner, Meg and Pavel returned to the hotel and immediately went to sleep in anticipation of the next day's training.

-

Three days went by quickly. Meg walked every evening and ran every morning in central park. Her body was happily eating up the increased calorie count, and she would easily qualify at the weigh-in to skate. The calculations were all done before hand. Bone mass and height was taken into account to give an accurate, healthy weight reading that would be required.

She went to the dentist and had her teeth re-whitened, and went to her favorite salon to have her hair trimmed and deep cleansed. She didn't like to dye her hair- even to highlight it- though many other skaters had beautiful highlight jobs and perfectly blended hair color. She liked her dark brunette color, and wasn't interested in changing it.

Every night, Meg talked with Andy for five minutes, and made sure to keep her body hydrated. Friday afternoon, one of the drivers from Francesca's firm drove Meg and Pavel to Hartford, and deposited them at their hotel. Meg unpacked all of her essentials, and then went with Pavel to the arena to get some practice time in. All the other skaters and coaches were arriving, including the other three girls expected to do very well. Many of the girls greeted Meg warmly, with hugs and kisses, and were genuinely glad to see her again.

Pavel had her run through a few of her footwork combinations and practice some of her jumps. There was a trick to the nervousness that Meg felt. She always felt nervous before she skated- the day before, especially, but she thrived under pressure. Having placed second at the World Championships two years in a row, she was not a stranger to pressure. However, a Nationals title was something she wanted to win. Everybody knew she could do it, she just needed to deliver.

When she had done everything he asked her to, Meg skated to the side of the rink where Pavel stood.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded as she caught her breath. He handed her a bottle of water and she began to drink greedily.

"I am. I can do this."

"Good."

They went back to the hotel and had food delivered to Meg's room. She at heartily on a very high protein and enzyme salad that was chocked full of vegetables and nuts and things that were to give her energy. Afterwards, she took a hot, relaxing shower, then lay across the bed in sweat pants and a tank top while Pavel gave her a massage.

It was their pre-big tournament routine. Pavel would stretch her out and relax all her muscles until she was totally de-stressed, then Meg would climb into bed and watch The Cutting Edge until she fell asleep. She always slept well because of the massage, and didn't stir until seven the next morning.

After going for an easy run in the hotel gym, she put on jeans and a t-shirt to eat breakfast with pavel. He stretched out her back and legs again, and helped her to meditate. Her appointment at the hair salon was at eleven, and she had her hair massively curled, then put into a curly twist. Her make up was done for her, because she had never achieved the skills she needed to do her make up beautifully enough for the judging. Jewels were added to the area around her eyes, and everything hair related was hair sprayed, while her face was sprayed with an ever last, solidifying spray.

At twelve-thirty, Pavel collected her and they took a long walk before catching their ride to the arena. Meg changed into her track suit and got warmed up, not really chatting with anyone. At two-thirty, she put on the costume, with the help of the dressing aide, and then took her warm up lap.

The arena was totally packed, and the crowed excited. They applauded for her, since she hadn't been at a US competition in months, and Meg smiled briefly. When she got off the ice, she waited for two more skaters before they told her to take the ice for her short program.

---

Friday afternoon, everyone arrived at Sea-Tac to board the plane. Mark pulled one big suitcase that contained all of his stuff as well as Addison's, while Derek had medium carry-on's. Andy's carry on contained the bare minimum; clothes, deodorant and a tooth brush. He had been too nervous to pack much else.

"Okay, people. Here we go."

When they were past security and at their gate, they all took a seat to wait for their flight to be called. Meredith and Derek were looking at Derek's blackberry, which had updated information and pictures about the house and things they were ordering. Addison read some magazines while Mark played a game on his phone, and Andy sat listening to music.

Their flight from Seattle to New York was uneventful, and they were picked up at the airport by a driver from Francesca's firm. As they drove through the city, Andy stared at the buildings whizzing by, unmoved by the return to New York. As they got older, Brookings students were always in the city, moving in high social circles. All he could concentrate on, though, was Meg.

Francesca and Casey greeted them warmly, and had dinner ready when they arrived. Meredith had a good time talking with Casey and Addison, while Francesca, Derek and Mark played cards that night. They all retired early, but everyone had trouble sleeping, being too nervous about the next day.

In the morning, Harrison and Kathryn drove down to the city, and picked up Meredith and Derek. Francesca had rented a car, and drove Casey, Andy, Mark and Addison down to Hartford. The drive took just over two and a half hours, and they went straight to the arena to get their seats.

At the arena, they met Daphne and Tom, as well as Andy's family, who was already there. Since Boston was just under two hours from Hartford, Adrian and Tammy Carmichal had decided to make the trip as well.

It ought to have been awkward for Derek and Meredith to meet the Carmichael's. They were very clearly going to be in-laws, someday, and Derek wanted to make a good impression. The Carmichael's were very laid back however, and he liked them immensely. It was obvious where Andy got his good humor and looks from, since both Adrian and Tammy were very attractive, even in their late sixties. They were all smiles and hugs for the Seattle crew, and greeted Mark, Kathryn and Harrison warmly as well. While Tammy was talking with Meredith, Derek spoke to Mark while still keeping a public grin on his face.

"You didn't tell me you'd met his parents."

"They came into the city for Meg and Andy's graduations. It wasn't really an optional dinner."

Both Meg and Andy had graduated from Brookings in May, though Andy's had been the more prestigious graduation, and Meg's had been an undergraduate degree. All the graduations took an entire weekend, with Meg's on Friday afternoon, and Andy's on Saturday morning.

"Relax. They're nice people."

They were, in fact. Adrian had worked as a lawyer for years, while Tammy had been a society wife for most of the time. Despite their upper class lifestyle, they were down to earth and seemed like regular people. Adrian was in his retirement, and they spent most of their time traveling, or spending time with their grandchildren (Andy had three siblings).

When the competition began, everyone took their seats, and watched. Skating competitions could take forever, but for Meredith, it was all a new experience. Derek explained the judging system; and pointed out the mistakes that the girls made.

After almost two hours of skating, however, Meg came out for her practice laps. She was wearing the beautiful red and cream creation, and everyone agreed how beautiful it was. After she went to sit and wait her turn, Meredith took Derek's hand.

"This is so exciting! And scary. But exciting."

Derek just laughed, and nodded. Three seats down, between Meredith and his father, Andy sat, slouched in his seat. Seeing his parents again was nice. He wasn't extraordinarily close with them; they had him late in life, and there was ten years between Andy and his sister Samantha. Still, it was nice that they had driven down to see Meg. He had become a boarder at Brookings at the tender age of ten, so he had essentially been out of the house for fourteen years. That made a kid grow up more independently than usual, and there was a space between Andy and his parents that would probably never be recovered. It wasn't an uncomfortable or bitter gap; it was just slightly distant.

"Oh my god, there she is. This is it."

Meredith squeezed his hand as well as Derek's, and Andy watched Meg get ready to skate. His heart was absolutely in his throat, and he swallowed uncomfortably. The next few minutes could change the rest of her life, and he was terrified for her.

--

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	32. The Short Program

Here you go…

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Meg skated onto the ice. Her costume glittered under the spotlights, and she looked down at the ground as she did a quick practice loop, only picking her head up halfway through. She barely saw the crowd; they were all cloaked in darkness.

Eventually, she lifted her arms out and did a slightly smaller loop, smiling into the darkness as she was 'announced', and the audience went wild. It had been months since she had been on competitive American ice. Almost nine months, really. She may not have been as well known in mainstream America as she was in Switzerland or Russia, or many of the European countries, but anyone even remotely familiar with ice skating would know her name. She was a favorite.

The United States conducted everything in a theatrical way. When Amilee or Lissa did their nationals competitions, they skated under the bright stadium lights- everything in full view. In the US, it had to be a show. So the skaters did their programs in darkness, under the watchful eyes of spotlights. It certainly made everything more beautiful. Meg knew she looked spectacular. She had to.

As she made her final loop, just around the center of the rink, she briefly thought how different it could be this time.

She'd never been a Nationals champion. She'd been second, and third, and second at the World Championships, but she'd never won Nationals. The previous year it had been because of her ankle. That much had been evident. It had been weak, and because of the stress, and the pressure, it had sprained during her long programme.

Of all the competitions, that had been the most heartbreaking. Everyone knew that Meg should have won. It ought to have been hers. The sprain had also kissed her chances of winning World Championships goodbye. She'd been second to Lissa, and it had hurt.

But this,

This was her time.

She wasn't just some little skating novice anymore.

Meg took her starting position and pose, took a deep breath, and waited for her music to start. When it did, everything fell into place. Her makeup was perfect. Her hair was beautiful. The costume was exquisite.

She didn't disappoint.

Right on the beat, she started with the music. She was on her toe pic, doing all the footwork, and went right into her skating combination. It was lighthearted and fast and enchanting. All of her movements were fluid, yet quick, and not at all choppy. She danced across the ice, her face smiling and happy as her arms went through the choreography and her feet managed not to trip over each other.

In the stands, Andy sat hunched forward. It was like he was in two states of being. The first was glued to Meg's every move, watching her like a hawk. The second had eyes closed shut, too afraid to look. He practically avoided blinking as he watched her, knowing which parts of the routine gave her trouble. On her first exceedingly complicated footwork combination, he bit his lip, relaxing only slightly when she did it perfectly.

For her first jump combination, he didn't breathe, heart thumping as she landed 1, 2, and 3 jumps. After that, he remembered to breathe. If she fell, she usually did it on her first jump.

The rest of the routine went just as smoothly. She flew through every single element, looking absolutely spectacular. At the end, her layback spin into spiral was exactly with the music, and she looked like a spinning top of red and gold, with perfect form.

She toe-picked her stop, and paused, catching her breath as the audience began to clap. Almost immediately, flowers began to be thrown onto the rink, along with small teddy bears and stuffed animals. Meg took two bows, one to each side, then skated to the exit of the rink, picking up a rose and waving it as she smiled.

The entire Shepherd-Carmichael-Sloan clan was on their feet, screaming and applauding for her. Mark clapped and whistled, and Meredith and Addison jumped up and down in exhilaration. Derek, Andy and Mark then turned to the big screen at one end to watch Meg.

The camera's showed her getting off the ice and being scooped into Pavel's arms, receiving a three kisses. He gave her the flatbeds, and she put them on, then walked to the kiss and cry area, where she was given a bottle of water. She smiled, and they talked in what was clearly Russian. Her breathing was so hard that she had to take shallow sips of water as she nodded her head to whatever Pavel was saying. In between that, she gave brilliant smiles to the camera and waved, blowing a kiss.

She sat there with Pavel for almost two minutes before they came in. Andy held his breathe as she looked to the big screen where her difficulty score came up. Her starting value was a 54.3, and the judges had awarded her all of her points for that. Now all that remained was the technical score for her execution. The highest they could give was a 50. Anything over a 45.5 was considered golden.

They waited.

And waited.

And then…

46.7

The entire arena began clapping, while Andy slowly relaxed. It was enough to put her in first place, with only two skaters to go. Neither of them had the starting value that Meg did, so she would almost certainly be in first place at the end of the night.

Relief was obvious on Meg's face as she waved to the crowd one last time. Then, she and Pavel were shown somewhere off camera, and she disappeared.

"Yeah, baby. Here we go."

Mark was still clapping, and Meredith looked about ready to pass out from all the excitement. Andy turned to his parents to explain about the starting values and why the next two skaters would likely be unable to catch up to Meg.

---

In her dressing room, Meg took off her flat beds and stared in the lit mirror. Her make up looked a little damp, but it was still in place.

First.

She was in first place, and she would be in first place when the competition started again the next evening. She quickly got one of the aide's to help her out of the costume, and put on her track suit. She would have to do an interview before she left, and she had no desire to look like a piñata.

Her make up was packed up in moments, and put into her bag. Once Meg had everything ready, she went back outside where Pavel was waiting. Andy never sent her a bouquet for the short programme of a Nationals or Championships. There would be one tomorrow, but on the first night, she needed all of her concentration going to her skate.

Pavel kissed her cheeks again, and led her to the media room, where, all the major sports networks were set up with cameras. She only had to do one interview, with ESPN, and then she was free to go. The reporter was a leggy blonde who asked her the same questions as usual.

Was she nervous? What did she think before her skate? How did she feel about her placement? What were her plans for tomorrow?

Meg answered all the questions with humility and a touch of embarrassment, and was then shown out of the room by Pavel, who had a car waiting. They went straight back to the hotel, and Meg immediately washed her face of all the make up. Pavel sat on her bed making calls while she got all the layers off her face, and she walked back into the room wearing black leggings and a long blue shirt.

As she walked into the room, Pavel was opening the bedroom door, and Meg smiled as her family bounced in. Addison and Meredith hugged and kissed her, followed by Daphne and Tom, Kathryn and Harrison, and finally Derek and Mark. Mark also slapped her butt, and shoved her into Andy's arms.

Andy just kissed her sweetly and hugged her.

"Well done."

"For tonight. Tomorrow's another day."

She winked, and threw herself on top of Mark, who was laying on the bed.

"Can we eat? I'm so hungry."

Everyone laughed, and agreed. It was only seven pm, but she hadn't eaten in hours. Andy helped her into her white fleece, and Meg threw on a pair knee high UGGS before they went down to the lobby. The entire time, Andy kept his arm around her waist, and she leaned into him, unwilling to think about the next evening's competition.

They took three cabs to a nearby Thai restaurant, and everyone sat down. Andy an Derek had warned everyone about the 'no ice skating talk' rule, so conversation centered around the wedding.

Everything for the wedding was ready. Meg and Izzy had helped Meredith to arrange everything, and she wondered if there was another bride who had been so stress free.

"Meredith, you're a brave woman to have the dinner at an Italian restaurant in your white dress."

Everyone laughed at Daphne's comment, including Meredith.

"Well, I'm going to have a really really big napkin. And I'm going to be having chicken alfredo. As will Derek."

Derek blinked innocently. "What if I want chicken marinara?"

His fiancé just kissed his cheek. "Welcome to marriage."

Everyone shouted with laughter, enjoying the big get together. It was a different sort of evening, really. It was the first time that it was only family. Izzy and Alex were clearly family, especially in Seattle, but this was a gathering of Shepherds. Andy, Mark and Addison were part of that family, so it was a wonderful balance.

"This food is amazing."

"I love Thai food. Love, love, love."

Kathryn rolled her eyes at her granddaughter. "Yes, darling. We know."

Derek turned to Meredith. "Addie and I took her for Thai food once- she must have been- what? Four? Five? It stuck. Every single birthday she got to pick what she wanted and it was always Thai food. Any celebration or dinner of her choice. We've probably tried every Thai restaurant in New York."

"Andy and I have been working our way through Seattle too. There's only like, twelve of them though."

It was the best meal that Meg had tasted in months. She wasn't watching any calories, she was just eating her curry with rice and downing water like there was no tomorrow. It was so delicious that she didn't care if she felt sick later from over eating

"Go slow, babe. After this you can have all the Thai food that you want."

She smiled, and leaned over to kiss him, only pulling back when Mark kicked Andy under the table and cleared his throat.

"Stop sucking face."

"Try and be an adult, Uncle Mark."

He only put his arm around Addison's shoulders and nuzzled the redhead's neck. "We're going to take a nice vacation soon. Somewhere hot and dry, where it doesn't rain, and irritating family members aren't there to bother us at all hours."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, seeing as it's _you _barging into _my _house at all hours demanding food."

Uncle and niece stuck their tongues out at each other until everyone was laughing again. After that, they all talked about the brownstone in New York that Addison was selling, as well as the house in the Hamptons. She wanted to split the cost with Derek, who absolutely refused to hear anything about it.

"Set it aside for the kids, Addie."

His comment made her freeze, for a moment, before she turned to Mark and smiled. "Maybe we should do that."

"Yeah, because you keep blowing your current paycheck on shoes and purses."

When dinner was over, they returned to the hotel. Pavel went to the bar to meet up with some of the other coaches for a drink, while Daphne and Tom went to their room to call the babysitter and the kids. Derek, Meredith, Mark and Addison also went to the bar for a drink, while Kathryn and Harrison retired for the night.

Andy and Meg let themselves into her hotel room and turned on the tv, catching the latest news.

"Wanna help me get all this crap out of my hair?"

"Sure."

The undressed and got into the shower, where Andy spent almost twenty minutes shampooing and then conditioning Meg's hair to get all the hairspray, glitter, and mousse out of the locks. When that was over, Meg changed into her tank top and loungepants, and crawled into bed, while Andy turned all of the lights off.

When it was totally dark, he climbed in with her, and cradled her while they talked.

"I'm so excited for the wedding."

"It'll be fun. You love weddings."

She just smiled, and kissed his collar bone. "We can dance and dance."

"Joy of all Joy's. Dancing in front of the entire hospital."

"You love to dance!"

He dropped a kiss to her forehead. "Only with you. Come on. Go to seep."

She closed her eyes, and tried to sleep. It came fairly easily because she was so exhausted, and the next time her eyes opened, it was to see Pavel letting himself into the room. She was still in Andy's arms, and there was light streaming through the curtains.

"Why are you here?"

She whispered it, so as not to wake Andy up.

"It's almost eight."

Her eyes went wide, and she quietly crept out of the bed.

She and Pavel were supposed to have gone running at seven-thirty, to keep her in a routine. Instead, she had forgotten to set her phone alarm the night before.

"Okay. Get out, I'll be downstairs in five minutes."

"It's cold."

She nodded, and grabbed a pair of thick leggings, leg warmers, under armor, and a long-sleeved shirt from the suitcase. Meg got dressed, then put on her socks and sneakers, threw her hair into a ponytail, and put on her headband ear warmers. She put some moisturizer on her face, coated her lips with chap stick, and grabbed her white felt gloves. She left her keycard at the front desk, and went to the front of the lobby, where Pavel was waiting.

"Come on old man. I hate it when you come into my room to wake me up. It's scary."

"You shouldn't have had him sleepover."

Rolling her eyes, Meg shrugged. "Nothing happened."

"I don't want to know that stuff."

"Well, you practically asked. Let's go."

They stretched in the foyer, then went outside. It was so cold Meg's lungs hurt for a moment, and she had to take several breaths to get used to the air.

"Holy Shit."

They began to jog, and quickly enough, warmed up. By the time they were running, Meg was totally warm. It wasn't an extremely fast pace- no sprint, but it would be enough to get a good work out if they ran for the better part of an hour. Pavel was certainly more than up to the challenge. One of the things that had always endeared him to Meg, was that he never gave her workouts that he hadn't done, and many times, he had done them with her. He kept in shape even in his old age, and while he didn't lift anymore, he still ran every morning.

Pavel and Meg ran around the downtown area, by the river- which was freezing- and over the bridge to make a big loop. By the time they got back to the hotel, it was almost nine o'clock, and they were both panting. Meg gathered her door key and went up to her room, where she found her boyfriend, father, and uncle all in the bed, watching the sports updates.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Mark and Derek had clearly barged their way in, demanding Meg. Rolling her eyes, Meg went for a shower. When she had emerged in black loungepants and a red tank top, she went to sit on Andy's lap in the middle of the beg. It must have been a comical site for Meredith, Daphne, Casey, Francesca and Addison when they walked in; Derek and Mark on either side of Andy, with Meg leaning against Andy's v'd legs.

Mark just surveyed the women and shrugged. "We got bored."

The women had decided to go get breakfast and serve up a big dish of girl talk. It had been highly enjoyable, and Meredith felt even closer to Daphne and Casey. It was extremely comforting.

"What time is your hair appointment?"

"Eleven. I have to be at the complex by one, so hopefully it won't take too long. Do you want to come with me to my appointment? It gets pretty boring because they hair ladies are so busy."

The women nodded, and Andy made a face. "I think I'll pass, baby."

Meg just giggled, and hugged his arms tighter to her shoulders.

They all lay around for another hour, before Meg went downstairs to get some fruit, and the women went back to their rooms to get ready for the competition.

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	33. The Long Program

I hope you like it….

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At 10:45, Meg met them in the lobby, where they got into a cab and went to the hair salon. There were three other skaters there, and two were just leaving as they walked in. Meg was immediately seated, and several chairs were pulled up around her so that Meg, Daphne, Casey, Francesca and Addison could chat with her while the hairstylist worked. Meg gave the woman the picture of what she needed, and immediately, the stylist began to work. It was an extremely elegant style, with all of her hair piled onto her head in intricate folds so that she looked like a princess. It would have been perfect to slip a tiara into, but she had decided to just stick a sparkly comb into one of the folds, as well as the copious amounts of glitter.

Her make-up was also done for her, in dark colors around her eyes. Unlike the evening before, it was more sexy than flirty, and was all based in blues.

When that was finished, she left the salon with her aunts and soon-to-be stepmother, and caught a cab back to the hotel, where she had a half hour meditation session, and then went for a walk with Pavel. While she and Pavel were taking a walk, the rest of the family went to the arena. It was only polite for them to be there for the entire competition, even though Meg would skate last.

Just as Andy was about to sit down, his cell phone rang. He quickly answered it since he only had a couple minutes till the lights would be turned off.

"Hello?"

"Andy."

He smiled as he heard the voice of Robby Epstein. A German male figure skater who was about as close to Meg as Amilee and Lissa were. Robby was twenty-two, and had trained in Zurich and Moscow as well, and had become great friends with Meg. Whenever Meg did any partner skating, she always did it with Robby, since they worked so well together.

"Hey, man."

"Listen, I know you must be about to start. I just wanted to tell you to relax."

Andy smiled. "Where are you?"

"I'm in Zagreb. In Croat; Croatia."

"What the hell are you doing in Croatia?"

"Just practicing as far away as possible. I'll be in Copenhagen next week, don't worry. But I saw it yesterday. She's doing beautifully."

In the beginning, Andy had been jealous of the relationship that Meg had with Robby. The male skater was exceedingly handsome, and an all around great guy. Kind, considerate, and intellectual, Meg's life could have been so much easier if she had fallen in love with him. Her relationship with Robby, however, had never been romantic. It was very similar to the relationship that Meg had with Luke, who was Andy's best friend. She seemed to have romantic eyes only for Andy, while Luke and Robby had her deepest friendship.

"She's feeling great."

"Good. I can't wait to see her- to see both of you- next weekend."

"No, man, we're excited to see you too."

"Bene. I just wanted to wish you good luck. I know how much it means to you for her to do well today. She'll be brilliant."

Andy smiled. "Thanks, Rob. Really."

"Auf Wiedersehen."

They hung up, and Derek turned to Andy. "Who was that?"

"Do you remember Robby Epstein?"

Derek's face showed some surprise. "Yeah. Of course. I didn't realize Meg still kept in touch with him."

"Oh yeah. They're still really close."

Meg and Robby had begun their careers together, essentially. When Meg had won her first Junior's World Championship at fourteen, Robby had been sixteen, and done the same for the men's side. After that, he had crossed over to regular competition, and Meg had stayed in juniors for one more year, to win her second title. They had put in dozens of appearances over the years, usually at exhibitions. Jonathan, Meg's original pairs partner, and been so much older than her that they retained little to no relationship, but she loved to skate and practice with Robby.

At the previous Olympics, Robby had won the silver medal, and he was attempting to go back for Gold in Torino.

"They always had the weirdest relationship."

Meredith asked who Robby was, and Derek explained. "Why was their relationship weird?"

Andy shrugged. "They have a really intense connection. On the ice and off. I mean, off the ice they're the best of friends; he's one of her best friends, really. But on the ice, they're very aware of each other. Meg said that when she was thirteen, she considered going back into pairs skating to team up with him."

"Yeah. We all talked about it for a while. But they were both such strong skaters on their own that it seemed to be pointless," Derek added.

"What happened to Meg's first partner? That Jonathan kid?"

"Meg hated skating with him. She was so young, and he was so much older than her. It made her uncomfortable because she barely knew him, and they were really too young to interact in any positive way. He was a nice kid, but she preferred to do singles after that. She and Robby used to practice together- Pavel was very good friends with Robby's coach. That's how they met."

"Meg doesn't have a lot of really close friends. There's Nan- Shannon. She went to Brookings. Amilee and Lissa, of course. And then Robby and Luke, who's really my friend, and Meg stole him. You'll get to meet Robby in Torino. He's trying to get his gold, and he won the German Nationals, so he'll be there. He'll also be there this weekend."

The lights dimmed, and the announcer's voice came on, causing the group to stop chatting. Derek leaned back and put an arm around Meredith, who was sitting next to Andy. Like the previous afternoon, Andy had his parents on his other side, and his mother patted his knee gently.

"Don't worry, sweetie."

---

Meg didn't arrive to the complex until forty-five minutes into the competition. She spent a long time stretching and holding her poses, rode the stationary bike for a little while, then got into her costume. The blue was absolutely spectacular, though she felt a little funny. it appeared that the halter went almost just above her belly button, when in fact the material between the bunched blue was skin colored netting and nobody could actually see her skin. Still, it confused her eyes when she looked in the mirror.

Andy had sent her a beautiful bouquet of pink roses, and she lovingly fingered them. Meg was a sentimental sort, and she had a rose from every skating bouquet that Andy had ever sent her. She had kept the first one as a little trinket, and had it dipped in wax. Then done the same with the second. And third. Before she knew it, she had an enormous collection. Meg always brought a little bottle to every competition, that contained a sealing spray. If she sprayed it on the rose, it would stay stiff, and she could put it into the hard plastic box container she kept, until she could get it to a place to have it dipped in wax. Usually a candle maker. It was a special collection of Meg's, and as soon as they got the trophy room set up in the house, she would get the perfect vase to hold all the roses. She also attached a little tag to each stem so she knew which competition the rose was from.

For half an hour, she then stretched as she listened to her ipod, absolutely ignoring every other skater there. She was friendly with them, to be sure, but everyone was concentrating.

One of the things that Pavel did was to keep all information from Meg during a competition. The night before, Meg had no idea how other skaters had done until she was in the kiss and cry and could see the board. She always left after her skate, so she didn't know what people did after her, and Pavel didn't tell her the previous night's results until just before she skated her long programme. So backstage, Meg didn't know how the other girls were doing. She had trained herself not to look at the score tv's, or the giant scoreboard in the arena itself.

When it was finally time for her to put her skates on, she took off the track pants and laced up her white skates.

"Are you nervous?"

"No. I'm excited."

She had to be. It was what made the sport fun. She had the routine nailed the way it was choreographed, without all the quad action. She just had to to do what she had done hundreds of times before.

When the skates were laced, Meg sat back and Pavel put his arm around her. Together, they waited till it was her time to get onto the skating deck.  
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Commentary by **Dick Button** and _Kurt Browning_

"**And** **now we welcome Meg Shepherd to the ice. In first place after the short, and the last skater we'll have tonight**...

_She has a starting value of almost sixty-seven on this programme, so she'll need at least a forty-six point 9 to win this_...

**Can she do it, you think?** …

_Absolutely._ _Meg's one of the best skaters out there, despite the bad luck she's had in past years. She's always performed well_....

**You're of course talking about last year at Nationals, when her ankle injury interfered with her long programme**...

_It was a big disappointment to finish second here and at the Championships. But I think Meg has everything in her to make a fantastic season this year. Let's not forget that she won the junior World Championships twice_...

**Now, you've seen this routine. Can she make the score she needs?**...

_Absolutely, Dick._ _If Meg skates it the way I saw her skate it in practice, there's no question that she'll win this. If it all goes well, I can see her scoring in the forty-seven range_....

**Alright.** **And here she goes, taking her pose. She's skating to Nessun Duerma....Good Beginning. She can be such an emotional skater when she needs to. And this programme is about as different from her short programme as possible**....

_Look at that footwork_…

**This routine has certainly improved from when we saw it at the Concert of Europe last month**...

_She and her coach Pavel Charaveski have really been working on the form for this dance_....

**Her first jump combination is a triple lutz-axle-loop, which is one of the more difficult combinations**...

_It's certainly challenging, but I think she really loves to take on new jumps- and here we go-Beautiful_....

**She just flies off the ice. Did you see how much air she got on that?**...

_Right into her second footwork combo._ _And you'll really see her try and work with the music for this programme_....

**Lovely form**....

_Her second combination is a Salchow-Lutz-Axle. Triple, of course._...

**Here it goes. Clean landing. And right into her out-edge spiral. **...

_Now look at her back leg, it's significantly higher than her head, and she has a steep angle. That's about as perfectly as you can do an out-edge spiral- and see how long she does it. Lovely camel spin, and nice layback...._

**Footwork...Now, this is her last combination- an Axle-Lutz-Loop. She's absolutely fearless with how much speed she uses. It's what's getting her so much air. Oh! And lovely landings....**

_Now here comes her spin combination. This is what is really spectacular about the routine because of all the spins She goes from a spread eagle to an Ina Bauer, an the angle she gets on that is amazing. From there she goes down into a hydroblading spin, up to camel, into straight, down to sit spin, up into layback and ends in straight spin...._

**That sounds like quite a spin combination. Here she goes, into the eagle...**

_And watch her foot turn-there she goes, into the Ina Bauer..._

**Look at that angel! Her head almost touches the ground...**

_I know! And she can hold it for quite a while, here she starts hydroblading, and now she'll second step into the camel, and watch her get speed, right up into straight. Alright, now she'll- there she goes, right into sit- I don't know how she holds herself that low. Here comes they layback- she's right with the music..._

**Beautiful form.** **She's known for her speed....**

_She certainly is, and look how fast she's going. One of the best spinners on the tour._**...**

**Well. That was quite a routine. Enough to win it, Kurt?....**

_Absolutely, Dick._ _That right there was about as perfect as she can do it. I just want to look at one of her jumps- the second routine. Now, look at her back leg as she goes into the Salchow. It's practically parallel to the ice, and even goes up to the upper angle, which is where all the power comes from when it hits toe. Now, back to the spin. I really can't talk enough about how wonderful she is at this. Meg makes it look so easy, and this is about as complex a spin combo as you can have. Some of the spins are awkward to link up, and it looks so effortless. She's always been a good jumper, but I think she has one of the best spins around. There are about three points where the entire spin has to work. When she's bent back in the Ina Bauer, look at her back foot gaining speed, and here, where she jumps to camel, she's really pushing that working foot on the spirals. And...right here when she comes out of the layback, she just picks up speed because of how straight she is, and that's what gives her that stunning ending effect...._

**They used to call her 'the spinning top' when she was younger. And you can certainly see why. Let's go to the kiss and cry.**

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Meg ended her spin, and the music stopped. As she used her inner balance to appear completely unaffected from the spin, but she felt the feeling over power her. It had been a clean skater. She hadn't fumbled one combination or jump, and the spin combination had been perfect. There had been a moment in the Ina Bauer where she hadn't been sure, but she'd held onto the form, and it had been fine. As she looked up at the audience to bow, she smiled beautifully.

In the stands, Andy was on his feet, feeling so powerfully relieved that he wondered if he was high. The feeling was so intense, he had to sit back down. Meredith was jumping up and down clapping her hands, and his mother rubbed his back as he hung his head in his hands.

"Holy Fuck. She did it."

He couldn't believe it. She'd done it. There was no way they could score her low. Mark and Tom were screaming at the top of their lungs, and Andy hastily got to his feet. Meg was skating off the ice, just as the junior skaters skated on to collect the flowers and bears, and the arena people began to set up the podiums for the awards ceremony. She got off the ice and Pavel scooped her right up, hugging her fiercely as he kissed both of her cheeks multiple times. He was sort of shouting at her in excitement and she was nodding as she began to cry. After they had their moment, he put her on the ground and she shakily put on her flat beds. Holding hands, they walked to the kiss and cry to await the results.

Absolutely exhausted, she gulped down the water, careful not to spill and equally careful not to overdo it too quickly. She was heaving, and Pavel kept his arm around her shoulder as he spoke to her quietly in Russian. Eventually, they announced that the scores were ready, and Meg looked down at the tv. There was a rushing in her ears as she waited, excited and terrified.

"You need 46.9."

Pavel whispered it in her ear and she nodded as they waited, both of her hands holding one of his. Meg's mind was chanting in Russian; different phrases and pleas to whatever gods were listening. When they finally announced it, she had to look at the big screen to get the numbers. She received her full starting difficulty score, and then there was a moment to get the technical execution.

"For technical execution, Miss Shepherd is awarded...Forty-Seven."

The arena went nuts, and Meg felt the relief overwhelm her as Pavel shouted and kissed her. An enormous bouquet of flowers was thrust into her arms from somewhere, and blindly, she turned her head to kiss Pavel before she stood up on the kiss and cry stage and waved to the crowd. She managed to look at her family, since she knew where their seats were, and saw the entire row of them whooping and hollering. Her gaze scanned over them until she saw Andy's face among them, and even though they were separated by an entire ice rink, they made eye contact. His face was a mixture of pride and relief and love. He nodded slowly, and she returned the gesture, needing no words to understand his emotions.

She waved her arms at the crowd for another moment longer, then was taken off the stage to immediately be shuffled backstage. There were tons of people, milling about, but she simply leaned against a wall for support. Pavel bent down to unlace and take off her skates and slip black ballet flats onto her feet. Beyond the concealing curtain she could see the three blocks set up on the ice, for the first three girls to stand on.

"Pavel? Секунда и треть?" (_Second and third?)_

"Shandi and Leanne."

"Catalina didn't place?"

Now that she was the Nationals Champion, Meg could afford to be a little bit bitchy. She was delighted that Shandi Davidson and Leanne Fernandes would be joining her in Torino, and that Catalina Morrison, one of Meg's biggest competitors, wouldn't be there. She and Shandi had been good friends for years, and Leanne was a lot of fun. They would have a lot of fun representing the country together.

"Come. Do you want to do the interviews now?"

Meg nodded. "Я предпочитаю быть в состоянии уехать позже." (_I'd rather be able to leave later_).

She was led to the little media room, where the photographers began to take pictures as soon as she walked in. Because of her contract, she had to wear something that had Addidas on it, so Pavel handed her a waterbottle, already filled, and she began to drink as her picture was taken. She was then led to stand in front of the reporter from the night before, under the glare of camera lights and about a dozen microphones a couple feet away.

"I'm here with the new Nationals Champion for ladies figure skating, Meg Shepherd. Meg. Congratulations. How does it feel to be the Nationals champion and know you're going to the Olympics in February?"

Meg grinned at the blond reporter. "It feels wonderful."

"This day has been a long time in coming. You have a juniors nationals title, two juniors worlds titles, a second and third here, and a second at the World Championships. Did you ever think you'd get to have your gold here?"

"Well, it was certainly always a dream of mine. But I have had some bad luck here in past years, with injuries, and things like that. But this year has just been about working as hard as possible to prepare, and my coach and I knew that I could do it."

"But after almost three years on the ladies circuit; did it ever seem like this day might not come?"

Inwardly, Meg winced at the woman's reference to her age and length of time being on the tour, but kept smiling.

"Well, I always knew I could do it. It's what I've been working towards, and I just kept my faith up. It was really great for it to finally come together this year, with the Olympics."

"You were first after the short last night; what were you thinking just before you got out there?"

Meg looked down and smiled, always a little shy talking about how awesome she was.

"I just knew that I needed to have a clean skate. My jumps were feeling great in practice today, and everything just fell into place. My first combination went really well, the jump landings, so I had a good confidence early in the skate. And all the footwork went well too, so it was just...nice and clean."

"This is the first time you've done your full spin combination at the end. You cut a couple spins at the Concert of Europe, last month. Tell me about that."

Meg nodded. "It's been a really difficult combination- I've certainly never attempted such an intricate spin combo before, so I really wanted it to be ready before I did it. But it was really satisfying to have it go so well."

The spin combination had certainly been difficult in the beginning, but since she had started to work on the quad jumps, it had seemed simpler and simpler in comparison.

"You're heading to Copenhagen for the World Championships."

"Yes. I'm pretty excited."

"What are your thoughts for preparation for that?"

"Ahhhh… Just to get as much rest for that as possible, it's next weekend, so it's coming up pretty quickly. But just to rest, really."

"Well, congratulations, again. Good luck in Copenhagen."

"Thank You."

Meg did a couple more interviews before being escorted back out of the room, and to the area just off the rink. Leanne and Shandi had also been in the interview room, and when they were all out they had a little group hug.

"I'm so freaking excited."

Giggling at Leanne, Meg kissed both girls congratulations, while they all sat to put their skates back on. They would have to skate of the ice and then climb up the stairs to the blocks, which would only be about four feet off the ground. Meg, however, wasn't the greatest at standing on flat ground in her skates.

"Пробуйте не упасть." (_Try not to fall_).

Pavel said it quietly, and in Russian, and Meg made a worried face. "You know you can just hold onto the hand of the Commissioner until you get your balance."

"Thank you."

They were instructed to wait just out of sight, while they were announced.

The entire thing took about ten minutes. All three girls were spotlighted as they skated onto the ice and did a loop around the rink, waving at the crowd. Then they went to stand behind their respective blocks, with Meg in the center. Leanne was announced first, and the crowd applauded as she shook hands with everyone and received her medal and flowers. Shandi went next, and then it was Meg's turn. She very carefully climbed the three steps to the top of the block and very slowly stepped onto the middle of the block. She bent down to shake hands and receive kisses from the Commissioner of the American Figure Skating League, the President of the Ladies Figure Skating League, and Peggy Flemming, who was handing the bouquets.

Her first place medal was put around her neck, and Meg stood up to wave both hands at the crowd, one holding the bouquet. She had one moment of loss of balance, but quickly recovered before she could fall in front of everyone. Pictures were taken of all the girls waving, and then of the three of them as Leanne and Shandi leaned in to Meg. They went through all the poses; holding their medals up a little bit, holding their flowers in front, and arms wrapped around each other.

Finally, they were all helped off the podiums, and did another victory lap, waving to the crowd. They were then showed off the rink and had to shake about a hundred hands before they made it even halfway to the dressing room. When she got into the dressing room, however, Meg found the entire family waiting for her, and they all screamed as they ran at each other. One of the Addidas photographers was busily snapping pictures as Meg hugged her father, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and Meredith, before collapsing into Andy's arms.

"I can't believe it. I can't even believe it."

He just kissed her again. "Can't you? I always did."

Meg kissed both of Andy's parents, thanking them profusely for attending. They adored her with Andy and had always made her feel at home, even though Meg knew that they weren't extremely close with Andy.

Several pictures of Meg with different family members and groups were taken, until Meg was finally allowed to sit down have Andy take her skates off.

"Babe, do you want to deal with this really quick?"

Francesca pointed to the enormous box of flowers and bears that had been put at her station, and Meg nodded.

"Yeah. The children's hospital?"

Francesca nodded. People only threw things onto the ice at the major competitions, and it was more than Meg could really deal with. So, she usually just had all the tags cut off, and saved, and then had the entire pile donated to a local organization, like the children's wing of a hospital. That way there would be some appreciation for all the flowers and stuffed animals.

Then, Meg perused the bouquet that Andy had sent, to find the perfect rose. She picked it out, and grabbed the bottle of spray from her make up bag. Spraying all over the rose, she held it while it dried, and talked to her family. When the rose was no longer wet from the spray, she put it into the case she had in her athletic bag, and handed it off to Andy.

"If you have a chance?"

He nodded, mentally adding a trip to a candle maker to the list of things he had to do in Seattle. Meg just packed up all her make up, and then stepped behind a dressing curtain with Francesca to change, since she could get out of the dress alone.

"That costume is fantastic, by the way."

"Thanks, Addison."

Once she had changed into green velvet pants and a white sleeveless turtleneck, she put her feet into Uggs, and packed her skates up. From the arena, Francesca, Casey, Kathryn, Harrison and Andy's parents were going to leave for New York and Boston respectively. Meg kissed them all, though the Shepherds would be in Seattle for Derek's wedding, and Meg and Andy would be spending a weekend in Boston just after Christmas.

After that, the rest of the crew went to the hotel to shower, retrieve bags and suitcases, and then go to the airport. Meg and Pavel would fly to Copenhagen, while everyone else would go to Seattle (Daphne and Tom would go home to San Diego). Then, Thursday night, Derek, Mark and Andy would fly to Copenhagen to see the Championships on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Meredith couldn't take any more time off because of the wedding and the honeymoon week, and Addison had a mother with quadruplets who was expected to give birth the following weekend.

They all found some food, and sat in one of the lounges while they waited for their flights. Daphne and Tom had their flight first, and they were sent off merrily, promising to come early for the wedding so they could hang out for a few days.

After Daphne and Tom took off, Meg and Andy took a little walk and sat at an empty gate to talk for a little while.

"I still can't believe it."

He just grinned. "I can't imagine what you'll be like when you win Championships. Or the Olympics."

Meg just sighed as she leaned against him. "I really thought I'd feel good after Nationals because I knew the Games would be locked up. But now, I just want to win Championships too."

"Of course you do. There's no need to feel bad about that. You're an athlete. You want the best."

Meg kissed his earlobe and laid her head on his shoulder. "I wish you could come with me for the week. Copenhagen is such a beautiful city."

Laughing, Andy threaded his fingers with hers. She looked so exhausted, with her hair in a French braid, no make up, and her glasses on. She had a blue zip hoodie on as well, making her look like a walking Old Navy commercial.

"You'll be too busy bashing around the city with Robby to worry about me. He called, by the way. Before the competition."

"He did? Where is he?"

"Zagreb. He told me to relax because you would win and it would be fine. I think he's on a flight tonight, or he would have called by now."

Meg loved to talk to people after she had a good experience, and he knew that Robby would have called if he could have. His best friend Luke had also called her to tell her congratulations, having watched the competition from his apartment in Paris. Meg had chatted with Luke for a few minutes at the hotel, but told him she would call later in the week so they could have a long talk. While Amilee and Lissa were her only real girlfriends, Luke and Robby could occasionally be her lifeline. When she was upset, and Andy couldn't calm her down, for whatever reason, she had to talk to one of them. It made Andy so happy that she and Luke were so close, and he knew that Meg loved the fact that he and Robby got along so well.

"I'm so excited to see him. It'll be so nice."

The six months that they had been in Seattle were the longest Meg had gone without seeing Robby, and both Meg and Andy missed Luke dearly.

"Just try to remember to take it easy. Robby loves life a little too much sometimes."

Meg just giggled, and they continued to talk softly to each other about random life facts. When they walked back to the gate that everyone else was waiting at, Meredith and Derek both stood up.

"Can we talk to you really quick?"

Meg and Andy looked confused, but followed the older couple a little ways away, where they all sat down across from each other. Meredith took Derek's hand, and looked a little nervous as she turned to them.

"Der and I have been talking about the wedding…a lot, and we have a favor to ask you."

Meg dug into her tote bag. "Let me grab my blackberry."

"No no, you don't need it. This is a personal favor."

"Sure, what is it?"

Derek smiled at Meredith to encourage her, and the young doctor bit her lip.

"Well, you mean so much to us. You've planned this wedding, really, Meg, and I know how important it is for your Dad to have you involved."

"So, " Derek took over from Meredith, "I was wondering if you would walk down the aisle with me. Mark and Jason are going to stand at the front, but I want to walk down with you, if that's okay."

Meg immediately hugged her father and kissed him. "Of course, Dad. Don't be silly."

"Well, that's not all. Meredith has one more thing."

Looking at Andy, Meredith smiled. "I'm not close with my dad. He walked out when I was little. And I was going to walk down the aisle alone, but this is a family wedding. I want to walk with somebody I love. So, I was wondering, if you would walk me down. And give me away."

Andy's mouth was slightly open as he stared at Meredith, totally speechless.

"Meredith…"

"Because we're going to be family soon. And you've become one of my closest friends, and it would mean…so much to me. To have somebody I love so much walk me down the aisle."

"Of course I will. I'll be honored."

Meredith threw her arms around him, and Derek pulled Meg to sit on his lap. He rested his chin on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her as she grinned with happiness.

"It's a good thing my dress is purple."

Meredith had insisted that Meg wear purple to the wedding, though Meg had absolutely refused to wear the same color as Izzy and Addison. Instead, it was a dark purple satin that had a v-neck and babydoll waist.

They continued to chat until Meg's flight was called, and then crowded around as she said goodbye to Mark and Addison, then her father and Meredith. When she walked up to Andy, she took two fistfuls of his shirt and grinned.

"Uncle Mark? Avert your eyes."

Before Mark could make a wise crack joke or lewd comment, Meg pulled Andy down to kiss him senseless. Ignoring the groans from both her father and Mark, as well as Pavel's martyred sigh, she wrapped her arms around Andy and kissed him as thoroughly as she could.

When she had finished, she smoothed down his shirt and grinned up at him. "I'm crazy about you, Carmichael."

"That's a good thing, Shepherd. I'm pretty crazy about you too."

She gazed up at him, her eyes wet. Andy's brow furrowed, not expecting tears from her.

"Baby?"

"I hate it when we're on separate continents. It feels so far."

"Meg-"

"It just feels like before."

"It's _not._"

"Andy-"

"It's not like before. You're going away for a week, and I"ll see you in four days. And then we'll both be going home. To our house."

She paused, still fingering the pocket on his shirt. "I just get anxious being away from you. And after last month-"

Andy took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes.

"In three months, you and I will never be apart again."

"Okay."

She smiled, kissed him again, and brushed his hair away from his forehead.

"I'll see you in a few days."

Andy kissed her forehead, and Meg put her huge tote bag on her arm.

"Okay. Bye everyone. I'll see you soon."

She and Pavel gave their tickets to be checked, and walked through the gate to the tunnel leading to their plane.

--

Please review!!!


	34. Copenhagen

For a list of characters and who they look like, check out my profile.

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Meg and Pavel flew out of New York, and had a five hour layover in London due to weather. When they arrived in Copenhagen, Pavel took Meg straight to the ice arena. As they drove through Copenhagen, however, Meg could only stare at the buildings as they drove by.

It was such a beautiful city. Like Prague, there was just something about it. Copenhagen was like a canvas; colorful and vibrant and spectacular. Being there gave Meg a sense of community. She had spent quite a bit of time there in the previous years, and had always liked to walk around the city. It was absolutely beautiful in the early morning or at dusk.

As soon as she was warmed up and on the ice, Pavel had her drilling the quad. He was eager to see how consistent she could be. To his extreme pleasure, Meg was fairly consistent with the axle. The win at nationals had given her a confidence that she hadn't had before, and she was landing the combination beautifully. There was no question that she would attempt it during the long program, but Pavel also concentrated on the spin combination, as well as her footwork and jump combinations from the short program.

By the time they left the complex, Meg was exhausted. She hadn't slept a great deal on the flight, and she was a little jet lagged, so after a long day of practice she was rather done in. They got to the hotel, and checked in. Meg literally shed her clothes and walked into the bathroom to run a bubble bath. When it was as hot as she could stand it, she put her hair in a high bun on the top of her head, plugged her ipod into the ihome on the bathroom counter (it was a posh hotel), and sank into the bathtub.

She rested her head against the back ledge, and allowed herself to relax. She hadn't been in the tub for five whole minutes when she heard the door to her room open, and somebody approach the bathroom.

"Are you decent?"

The momentary worry she had experienced immediately abated, and she watched in amazement as Robby Epstein walked into the bathroom.

At 5'10, Robby was lean in the exact way a male figure skater should be. He was muscular without being overbearing in that way, and had the kind of body that a soccer player would drool over.

Robby was also incredibly handsome. He had dark brown hair and striking features; incredible blue eyes with dark eyebrows and thin lips that graced posters all over teenage girls' rooms in Eastern Europe. His hair was a little bit shaggy, just enough to be messed perfectly, and he smirked at Meg as he sauntered into the bathroom and leaned against the door.

"Well, well, well. Greta Shepherd."

He often called her the German equivalents of Margret; Greta, Meta or, occasionally, Gretel .

"How the hell did you get into my room?"

"You left a key for me at the desk."

She shook her head very slowly. "No. I did not."

He appeared to be mockingly confused. "Didn't you?"

"I could have been naked."

"You _are_ naked."

"I'm covered by bubbles."

"My loss."

The bubbles were extremely thick, and Meg extended her hand to Robby, who squatted by the tub and took her grip. Very slowly, he pulled her knuckles to his lips and kissed them.

"Miss Shepherd."

"Robby."

They smiled at each other, and he stood up to hoist himself onto the counter.

"Congratulations on Nationals. What the hell are we listening to? The fucking Indigo Girls?"

He pulled the ipod off the speaker and began to mess around with it as Meg relaxed, surveying him lazily.

"Thank you. What were you doing in Zagreb?"

"Practicing. It's been to bloody crowded in Zurich."

He was wearing jeans and an old skating club t-shirt that had been washed too many times; form fitting and showing off his biceps.

"Did you just get in this morning?"

"Yes…you need better music…I was at the rink this afternoon. The other one, outside the city."

"Shall we go for dinner?"

"Do you want to order in? I'll understand."

Shaking her head, she cupped some hot water onto her shoulders. "I'm starving. Go watch tv and I'll be out."

Dutifully, he went into her room and lay on the bed flipping channels as she washed herself off and then wrapped the towel around her. She emerged from the bathroom all wrapped in white, with another towel around her hair.

"Where are we going?"

"We could go to The Docks. Or, if you're feeling particularly adventurous, we could go to Malmo."

"The Docks are good."

Meg dug around in her suitcase and located the jeans and top that she wanted, then returned to the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later she emerged in jeans and a dark blue halter top, with make up on and her hair blow dried straight. She walked to her gigantic suitcase and unzipped her leather boots from the inside pocket. They were knee high with a nice heel, and she zipped them up over the jeans. Robby held her jacket for her as she shrugged into it, and she grabbed her carrying purse from the suitcase, throwing her wallet, phone and keycard into it, along with her lipstick.

After he put on his leather jacket, they left her room and took the elevator down to the lobby.

"Où vous êtes?" _(Where are you?)_

Robby pointed upwards. "Zwei Böden auf". _(Two floors up)_

Along with his native German, Robby spoke fluent French, as well as a rudimentary working knowledge of Russian. When they were in Copenhagen, his German could usually get them by since it was rather close to Danish. When he and Meg were alone, they spoke a rough blend of languages. She spoke to him in a mix of English and French, and he answered her in a mix of English, French and German, though most commonly it was just a mix of French and German. Over the years, his talking to her in German had allowed her to pick up quite a lot.

"Me dire tout vous ne me direz pas sur le téléphone." _(Tell me everything you won't tell me on the phone.)_

Robby just laughed, and wait patiently for the elevator to reach the lobby. "What makes you think I don't tell you everything?"

"You've been unusually quiet lately. Letting me do all the talking."

"Nimmt an, dass ich Verhör Ihre Stimme mag." (_Suppose I like hearing your voice._)

"If I believed that, Je serais idiot." (_I'd be a fool_).

"It's true. I miss you."

She laid her hand on his shoulder and walked a little bit closer to him. "I miss you too. When the games are over, I want you to come to Seattle."

"It's on the list, Sweeting."

"Well, then make it happen."

He hailed a cab for them and directed the driver to the sea docks area, where many grunge-contemporary restaurants were located. There was a delicious fusion restaurant that Meg loved, and they were quickly seated in a rustic seaman's decorated booth of wood.

"You look so great."

Meg just gave a little laugh. "You should have seen me three months ago. Fat as you like, let me tell you."

They had such an odd relationship. Robby was one of the few people in Meg's life that constituted home. Wherever she was, he could make it better. The same went for Andy, Luke, and Amilee. Sometimes they giggled like children for hours, and sometimes Robby would be content for them to be with each other in silence.

"To me, you have no idea how beautiful you look. Especially…well, you look beautiful."

His eyes kindled with something, and Meg felt her throat go dry. She quickly looked away, tracing the handle of her water glass.

"Do you ever think about it? That night?"

He also looked away, uncomfortable with the memory. "Yes."

"How often?"

Their eyes met again, and he swallowed uncomfortably.

"Every time I think of you."

She sighed deeply, and ran a hand through her hair. "Christ…it was here. In Copenhagen. Last year."

"Yeah."

They were quiet for a little bit longer, studying the menu's. Eventually, Robby leaned over and laid his hand over Meg's.

"Did you ever…tell Andy?"

Meg shook her head. "No. I couldn't. It's better that doesn't know."

Robby looked tortured as he ran a hand through his own shaggy locks and mimicked her, tracing the rim of his beer.

"You have to tell him. You know that right?"

"Of course I know. It'll devastate him though. He really…he has no idea."

That made Robby recoil. "I know. That's what kills me. That he has no clue. I should have…I mean, at the time-"

"You promised me you would stay out of it."

"Because you begged me to. Because we swore it would never happen again."

"It's almost a year ago. Next week, right? December 8th. But we weren't at the Marriott. Where was it? That little hotel off Stelztoria street?"

"It was the Front. On Sankt Annae. The Plaza over there."

Meg nodded again, remembering the night a year ago.

"I want to thank you for it, but I'm sorry I brought it up. Can we talk about something else?"

"Ja. Erzählen Sie mich um die Hochzeit. Was that too much German? Ah, Me dire de la noce." (_Tell me about the wedding; German, then French._)

Immediately, Meg launched into details of the wedding until the waitress came to take their orders. Eventually, they moved onto a lighter topic of who they were excited to see.

"Well, I saw Amilee and Lissa at the Moscow camp. You see them much more often than me though."

He waved his hand dismissively. "I haven't seen Amilee since August. We'll all have to go out on Sunday. With Andy and whoever it is Amilee is dating this week."

"And Lissa."

That surprised him. "Lissa's dating?"

"Can you believe it? His name's Amando. He's her lawyer."

"I never thought I'd see the day."

"I know. It's pretty great."

Their food arrived eventually, and they began eating. Robby had ordered seafood, since they were on the docks and it was caught fresh every day, but since Meg didn't eat seafood, she had ordered Frikadeller, which was a dish of meatballs, and the official Danish national dish.

"So. Tell me about the quad."

She nodded, chewing on her meatball. "It's good, Robby. Eight out of ten times."

"You can do better than that."

"I think so too. Especially now. I don't know. It went so well today."

Robby nodded slowly. "You need to be careful."

"Why?"

"Because I know you. Better than almost anyone, excepting Andy. I want you to win this, you know I do. But you also need to understand that when you do, there's going to be more pressure."

"I know-"

He shook his head. "No you don't. I told you- I know you. You're just telling yourself that you'll deal with…whatever," he gestured his hand around, "after the competition. After you've won. But you have to think about it now. You land this quad on Sunday, you have to land it in Torino. And you hate pressure like that. It makes you go crazy."

"I can win all three. Nationals, Championships and the Olympics."

"Of course you can. I believe you're the best skater there is today on the ladies tour. Francesca Girardi doesn't have what it takes."

Francesca Girardi, an Italian skater, was considered to be the favorite to win the championships, and many thought the Olympics. She could land the quad in a toe loop, and she had exquisite footwork.

"You don't know that."

"I do."

"Francesca can do the toe loop quad-"

"But she can't do the axle."

Meg rolled her eyes. "She's been working on it-"

"_She can't do the axle. _Meg, I've seen it. She can't do it. Her coaches don't understand it, she just can't do the axle. Or the lutz. She's only got the toe loop."

Her brows knit together in confusion. "Why can't she do it?"

"She relied on her toe loop for too long and now she can't get it together fast enough. Everyone knows there's something going on with you. All your practices have been private. That says something. So yes. People know there's something up."

"Do they know about the quad?"

"No. Best guesses are probably about the spin combination at the end."

"I've got to land this quad. If I can win the championships then I'll feel better about Torino."

Robby nodded, and had some more of his beer. He loved watching Meg skate. He was fond of her, to be sure, but he truly believed her to be the best skater there was. She had so much heart, and she poured it out all over the ice. She was like a different person on the ice; full of showmanship and the flirty, occasionally sensual skater that everyone wanted. Off the ice, she had all those elements, but in a more subdued form.

She had been delightful to him since he had first met her. They'd been at a skating competition in Budapest and Robby had been in second place after the short skate. He'd seen her sitting on a bench, reading a copy of Jane Eyre in French. She couldn't have been more than ten, and she'd looked up at him expectantly as he sat down next to her. Something about her childish innocence, and the way she had read him so easily had made him like her, and he had found himself talking to her at skating competitions for the rest of the year.

That had been the beginning, really. They had just become better and better friends, and before he knew it, four years had passed and they were both winning the juniors world championships.

They both had other friends, of course. Amilee and Lissa were her best girlfriends, and Robby had his own boys that he loved, but his relationship with Meg was special. They could read each other's minds, practically. Certainly they could sense each other's emotions. It was what made them do so well when they occasionally skated in pairs competitions.

Not seeing her for six months had been difficult for both of them. She was doing well in Seattle, but he had relied on her just as equally, and having her gone was hard. He would have liked to visit her, but his schedule had been absolutely crazy. In preparation for the Olympics, it seemed that the number of competitions had doubled, and every coach was encouraging their skaters to enter all of them.

"Come on. Let's go back to the hotel."

They walked along the dock, and Robby started to hail a cab.

"Let's just walk for a few blocks. To the square."

She took his arm and they began walking the lit up streets, to a plaza that was near the docks. It always had a large Christmas tree, and Meg liked to look at it at night.

Eventually, Robby brought up the next day.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"I definitely want to go to dinner at Azlie's. I fucking love that place."

"We can do that. Isn't Amilee supposed to be here by then?"

"Yeah. She gets in tomorrow morning."

"Ja. Que devrions-nous faire après la pratique alors ?" (_What should we do after practice then?)_

"Can we go to the zoo?"

Groaning, Robby stopped for a moment, during which Meg yanked him back into step.

"What's wrong with the zoo?"

"You and Amilee _always _demand we go to the zoo. We've seen the freaking chimps and seals fed _dozens_ of times."

"Yes, but now they have the elephants, and I want to see them."

"I believe animals should be in the wild."

"Then go off and live in the jungle because that's where you belong."

"I am not going to the zoo again. Ich lehne unbedingt ab."

"I don't speak German, thank you."

"I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE."

"We can go after practice- come on. I'm tired and I want to see the lights."

She pulled him to get him moving again, and Robby made a face as he followed her, muttering something about 'the damn elephants'. When they got to the square, they milled about with other people, looking at the Christmas tree and the buildings that were all lit up. Robby stood behind her with one arm crossed in front of her neck, and smiled up at the tree.

"Come on. You need your sleep."

They hailed a cab and got back to the hotel. Meg let them into the room, and went immediately to wash her face and change. She reappeared in black knee length leggings and a green tank top, with her hair in a messy bun and her glasses on.

"You don't even need those."

"I do! My eyes get tired. They're low prescription."

"You just wanted them because Andy has glasses."

"Not true at all."

She stuck her tongue out and jumped onto the bed where he was laying against the headboard, an arm crossed behind his head.

"I refuse to watch Danish porn."

Rolling his eyes, he whacked her stomach with the remote.

"As if this hotel would even offer it."

He flipped until he found a suitable movie that was in French, and they both settled back.

"I hate French film."

"That's because you're not an intellectual and can't appreciate art."

They watched it anyway, and before long, the two of them had fallen asleep. With the skating and the traveling and the jet lag, they didn't have a chance, and Robby had just enough energy to reach over and turn the lamp off before pulling the covers over them so they could stay warm.

*********

_**One Year Ago, The Front Hotel, Copenhagen, Dec. 8; 10pm**_

_Robby took the elevator to the fourth floor, where he let himself into his room. The competition was finally over, having dragged on and on. First place again. Winning was just a justification for all the hard work that one had to put in. The trophies meant nothing- it was all about the satisfaction of pushing himself to the brink._

_He pulled out his cell to call Meg- she was only in the next room, and they had plans to get a drink with Amilee and Lissa, as well as one of his skating friends._

_Undressing quickly, he stepped into the shower and allowed the almost scalding water to soothe his muscles. The competition had been absolutely draining, and he was excited to let loose for the evening. He didn't drink during competition, and he had been eating lean meat and fruit and nuts for the past week to keep his levels up. He wanted carbs and battered breads, and lots of laughter. _

_He also wanted to take Meg out for some fun. The poor girl had been so exhausted lately, and miserable beyond any measure that Robby had seen in her before. She and Andy had been fighting about something, and though she wouldn't talk about it, he knew that it was really bothering her. The entire time they had been in Copenhagen, she had been underperforming, and had barely managed to win the competition. She was also undernourished, and needed to eat more. He'd make sure she ate a good dinner when they went out, though it had been months since Robby had seen her eat the way that she needed to. The other coaches who assisted her were getting her down, and Pavel was too concerned with the skating to get into arguments with her wellness coach, or the Russian coaches who thought that she was too big no matter what she did. Just because she was American. _

_Ridiculous._ _Meg hadn't had a burger and fries or a slice of pizza in years._

_Robby put on a black button down and jeans, as well as his leather dress shoes. He grabbed his jacket and shut off the lights in the room, going next door. He knocked, and waited. Hearing the tv and figuring that she was in the bathroom, he used his keycard to let himself in. When they were in the same place, Robby and Meg always gave each other the spare key card. _

_All the lights in the room were on, and the tv was playing some Danish music video station._

"_Sweeting?_ _Where do you want to go? I told Ams and Lissa I'd call them?"_

_There was no answer. He fully walked into the room, hearing the shower, but seeing the bathroom door wide open._

"_Greta?"_

_He walked in, and almost fainted from the shock. Meg was lying on the floor next to the toilet, naked except for her underwear. There was vomit in the toilet as well as traces of blood, and there were traces of it on her mouth and neck. Along with the obvious vomiting, Andy could see that she was so much thinner than he'd thought. The skating costumes and sweatshirts she wore were obviously hiding a lot. Every single rib could be seen, and it looked like she didn't have any fat on her body. She wasn't quite a skeleton, but it was such a change from how Robby thought she was actually doing, that he couldn't believe it._

"_Holy fuck… FUCK. MEG. Meg? Sweeting?"_

_She stirred the slightest bit, but couldn't lift her head up. Robby felt his heart drop into his stomach as he knelt by her head and tried to wake her up._

"_Meg, sweeting._ _Come on."_

_She stirred again, and he slapped her cheeks lightly._

"…_Robby?"_

_He crawled over to the shower and cupped some water in his hand, pouring it on her face to both wake her up and wash everything off her face. She looked so exhausted and sick that it was heartbreaking, and he lifted her up so she was half sitting._

"_Wake up, sweeting. We're going to the hospital."_

"…_no…"_

"_Come on. We'll put a robe on."_

_He scooped her up in his arms bridal style and carried her into the bedroom._

"_Oh god._ _Okay. Where's a shirt?"_

_He ran around the room, looking for a shirt to throw on her, as well as a pair of sweat pants. Meg was on the bed moaning, and she weakly pushed herself up so she was sitting._

"…_No…"_

"_What sweeting? Here. Let's put this on you."_

"_No…Robby, no."_

_She crossed her arms so that he couldn't put the shirt on her, and then tried to put her hand on his arm. _

"_We can't."_

"_Can't what?"_

_He maneuvered her arms so that he could slip the shirt on her, and then started to get the sweat pants on to her legs._

"_My bag._ _I need my bag."_

"_Meg, it's okay. We'll go to the hospital-"_

_She shook her head, starting to cry as she got frustrated from the exertion of asserting herself. _

"_My bag, Robby._ _I need it."_

_He seemed to realize that she was getting even more upset, so he looked around for her Prada tote, and finally saw it next to the armchair by the window. _

_Retrieving it, he put it next to her simultaneously pulling out his phone._

"_Can you walk? Fuck it, we'll call the ambulance."_

"_No…bottle."_

"_Sweeting?"_

"_Get the bottle."_

_She pointed to the bag, and he looked through it for a bottle. He found it at the bottom, and pulled out a fat bottle with some kind of medical warning and name written all over it. It had a green tint, and Meg motioned toward it._

"_Open it."_

_He unscrewed the top. "I need you to give me some…Just pour it in my mouth. About a tablespoon."_

"_What is this? We need to go to the hospital."_

"_No. __**Robby**__. Just…please."_

"_Let me get water-"_

"_No. No water. Just the medicine."_

_She tipped her head back, wincing at the pressure that stretched in her neck. Robby poured some of the liquid down her throat, wincing at the smell. It was thick and white, and he guesstemated about a tablespoon. Meg swallowed it slowly and dutifully and then sank back onto the pillows._

"_Okay. Medicine in, we're going to the hospital."_

_She waved her hand at him, her eyes imploring him to wait. Meg pointed to her wrist, as one would to give a signal about the time. _

"_You can't talk? For how long?"_

_She held up 3 fingers._

"_Three minutes…and we can't go to the hospital?"_

_She ignored him, and closed her eyes, trying to relax. Meg was attempting to only breathe through her nose, and Robby waited for the three minutes, in agony and confusion. When the time had finally passed, Meg took his hand and began to breathe normally again. _

"_Hospital?"_

_She seemed to have regained some strength, and she shook her head._

"_We don't need to go."_

"_The fuck we don't. You passed out on your bathroom floor, you're throwing up and there's blood all over."_

"_Robby."_

"**Then you better start explaining. And while you're at it, explain why you look like you're two steps from death's door."**

_She looked positively murderous as she pulled the sweatpants the rest of the way up her legs. _

"_Please calm down."_

_It was exactly the wrong thing to say, and it set him off immediately._

"_Are you kidding me?"_

"_Okay, just listen…I don't know where to begin."_

_He exhaled deeply before he rubbed his temples with his pointer fingers._

"_Please tell me that you ate something that made you throw up. Meg. Please."_

_She looked like she wanted to cry and he shook his head as he leaned back on the bed to lie down._

"_Oh god._ _You haven't. Tell me you haven't been throwing it up."_

"_It's not what it seems."_

"_Meg."_

_Suddenly, Robby was exhausted. The weight of the situation finally fell onto his shoulders, and he realized what was going on. Before, Robby had just thought that Meg was just doing the extreme end of the diets that were recommended. Clearly that wasn't the case. If she was throwing up her food, and it was bad enough that there was blood, than it had been going on a while._

"_**How long**__?"_

"_Robby-"_

"_How long?"_

"_It's been on and off for a long time."_

"_And when you say long time?"_

"_Since I won Bern."_

_He racked his brain. The last time Meg had won the Bern Invitational had been…_

"_Two years? __**Two years?**__"_

"_Not the whole time. On and off, and it didn't get bad until earlier this year. Like January."_

"_How bad?"_

_She hesitated, and it took everything in Robby not to force her to talk. _

"_I started to have trouble keeping food down."_

"_Oh my god…I can't believe Andy's okay with this."_

_There was a long silence, and Robby looked at Meg with narrowed eyes._

"_Andy doesn't know, doesn't he?"_

"_Well. It's kind of a difficult situation."_

_He went into a round of German expletives, and Meg winced. All at once, he was standing up and pacing the room, looking like she had told him there was a bomb going off._

"_Explain. Right now."_

"_I mean, it started in Bern. It did. But it was just that one time. And then a month or so later. I wasn't the thinnest girl on the tour, and sometimes the judges make comments."_

"_Your beautiful. You should know that."_

_She grimaced, and hugged her knees to her chest. _

"_I just wanted it to be easier. My jumps and the scores. Everything. And it just felt so good to be able to control it."_

"_But you're not controlling it-"_

"_I'm trying to explain why it started. Do you want to listen?"_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_It was about the control early on. Because I could control it. And I knew Andy wouldn't approve, but it was just…You know what it's like for me. When I'm in Moscow or Zurich and Andy's not there. And being around all the girls? We aren't judged only on the stuff we can do on the ice. It's also about everything else. You guys don't have to deal with that. And Andy wasn't there to make it better. So yes, I started being a bulimic."_

_He winced as she said the word, but nodded._

"_And it got worse?"_

_Meg nodded slowly. "I couldn't stop it I don't even know how it happened, really. It just started getting worse and worse."_

"_How did you hide it from Andy?"_

"_Andy's in med school. He studies a lot. I travel. And he's not always around when…I've been able to keep it quiet. But I'm stopping. Really, I am."_

"_Meg…"_

_The tears began to form in her eyes even faster, and her face took on a tortured expression. _

"_I promised him that I would gain weight. That I'd find a way to train and compete while carrying a little more weight. Because it worries him so much that I don't weigh…a lot."_

"_Meg-"_

"_I'm going to stop, Robby. I mean it. Even if I didn't want to, my body can't take it anymore. It causes esophageal bleeding. My doctor said my stomach is also rupturing because of all the acid going up and down. That's why there's so much blood."_

"_What did you take? What's that medicine?"_

"_It's a coating. It just coats the throat and stomach so that the tube can repair itself…but it's only a short term thing. I have to stop. I promised Andy I'd stop."_

"_Meg. I love you. You know I do, but I can't sit on this."_

"_You can't tell him, Rob. It would kill him. Really it would."_

"_Meg-"_

"_No, Robby."_

"_It's not…telling on you because you're a child. You don't answer to him. But he can help you. He's a doctor-at least, he will be soon. He can help you get better."_

"_I can't tell him. This would destroy everything. He already doesn't trust me about my weight, and everything-"_

"_Tell me something. You're the number two skater in the world, you weight, I'd say is at best a hundred pounds, probably less. You have one of the highest jumps and you're a bulimic. What did he say, Meg? What did he do to convince you?"_

_She hesitated, looking at her hands. "It was kind of an ultimatum. He said he couldn't go on, together, if I wasn't going to take care of myself."_

_Robby swore again. "If Andy is saying that, then I know it's worse than the throwing up, because that boy loves you so much it kills him to see you so thin. So clearly, you're not even eating as much as you need to be."_

"_What do you want me to say, Robby? I eat an apple after practice, I get a disapproving glance from every one of my coaches."_

"_Pavel is your coach. He's your main coach and he doesn't care what you eat."_

"_Anyway._ _Andy graduates in May, and we're relocating. Anywhere he gets accepted that's away from the East coast."_

"_That's fabulous. But it's in six months."_

_She put a hand on his knee, and looked at him imploringly._

_  
"I have to stop. I know I do, and it's my cross to carry. And I can stop. I have a prescription in the states that I ordered and it won't be ready till I get back to Brookings. It helps with the nausea."_

"_Tell me what happened in the bathroom."_

"_I just got too light headed and passed out. My throat was burning, and I couldn't get enough oxygen, combined with the fact that all I've had today is my protein boost before skating."_

"_The end, Meg._ _I mean it. It has to stop."_

_She nodded. "I will. I am. I'm going to eat a little bit more than usual tonight- I can't go too fast."_

"_In the meantime-"_

"_You can't tell Andy. Please, Robby. I'm scared if you do, it'll just be the end of everything."_

_Robby paused, unsure of what to do. She looked like she genuinely wanted to change, but he knew better than to just trust her. She as was sick, he had to remind himself. She had a disease._

"_You're skating in London? Next month?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_I want to see a change. I mean it. You need to look healthy. If you don't look better, then I'm telling Andy."_

"_Okay. I promise. I'm really going to do this. The doctor said the nausea medication would help with the urge to throw up. And that way I'll be able to eat a little bit more each time."_

"_I just want you to get better, sweeting. You know that."_

_She started crying again. "I know. I don't want to let anyone down."_

_He pulled her into his arms, and held her as she cried everything out. _

"_You could never disappoint us. We love you too much."_

_He never ended up calling Amilee or Lissa that night. He just tucked Meg into bed and held her as she cried. _

_---_

Sorry if that last part was a bit weird. I just wanted to show how close Meg and Robby really are.

Please review!!!


	35. Old Friends

_**Hope you like...**_

---

The entire week, Meg, Amilee, Robby and Lissa had fun. They went to the zoo and saw the elephants, and made Robby take almost fifty pictures there. They went out to dinner and really did bash around the city, even hitting one of Copenhagen's famous discotheque's on Tuesday night. It was a fun week, since nobody had the pressure to win the Championships. They would all be going to Torino, so the anxiety to qualify wasn't there.

That didn't stop them from practicing, however. Pavel didn't push Meg very hard, but she definitely worked all of her footwork combinations so that she was comfortable. The quad was looking good, and every day she grew even more confidant.

It was also lovely to spend time with her best friends. Having all three of them in once place with a week to hang out was sheer bliss. She couldn't wait to go to dinner with everyone once Andy got into town.

Her costumes were cleaned by experts, and ready to go, and Meg was feeling fabulous. When Andy, Mark and Derek got in on Thursday night, they caught a taxi to the hotel where Meg had booked them a room. Unfortunately, there was only one room to be had so the three of them had to share. Meg was a little worried that Mark would make Andy sleep on the floor.

As soon as they put their bags in their room, they went down to Meg's room, where they saw the entire group sitting on Meg's giant queen bed. Robby was stretched out across the bottom, while Amilee and Lissa sat next to Meg against the headboard. The custom was to leave the door slightly open so that other skaters could come in and chat, and Andy opened the door a little bit, wanting to make sure he had the right room.

"Hello?"

Meg flew off the bed and wrapped her legs around his waist as she kissed him, ignoring the whoops and hollers from Amilee and Lissa. When Meg finally let go, she grinned up at him.

"Welcome to Copenhagen."

"You know, that's the exact welcome I got at the airport."

She just laughed and went to hug her father and uncle, as Andy was accosted by Lissa and Amilee. When they had finished hugging and kissing them, Andy and Robby man-hugged and shook hands.

"Good to see you."

"You as well."

Amilee turned her attention to Mark and Derek.

"Monsieur's. Welcome to Copenhagen."

She kissed Derek's cheek, and then sent Mark a sultry grin as he threw his head back and laughed.

"C'mere, Amilee."

Mark gave her a bear hug and gave her a peck on the lips. "That's all you get, you little minx. I'm a committed man now."

She just winked at him. "You're too old for me anyway."

"Ouch. That hurt. A lot. You know what? Forget Addison. Let me show you what an old man can do."

Amilee just laughed, and patted his cheek before walking away.

"I think I just got taken down a notch. Thanks, Blondie."

She and Lissa went back to sit on the bed, and Robby greeted Derek and Mark.

"Hey Germany, how's it going?"

"Pretty good. Yourself?"

"Not bad. I'm excited for tomorrow. It'll be fun. How could it not be; you have the girls who are going to go one, two, and three in this room!"

Meg smiled at Robby as she sat on Andy's lap in the armchair. She was wearing cashmere lounge pants and an old Brookings tshirt that had shrunk in the wash. She had her hair in a high ponytail that reached just above her mid back, and Amilee had just painted her toenails a dark red. Andy cupped her foot and kissed her neck, just under her ear.

"Very pretty toes."

She giggled, and snuggled more into his chest. Andy's phone beeped, and he pulled out the blackberry to check it. He typed something in, and put it back in his pocket.

"What was that"

"My alarm."

"We were watching some game show, but it's in Danish and we don't really understand it. And also, Robby is lying about the translations because Amilee googled it."

"I told you, it's loose translation. I speak German, not Danish."

A couple minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Andy whispered in Meg's ear.

"Surprise."

She looked at him in confusion as Derek went to open the door.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm here to see Meg."

In the chair with Andy, Meg heard the voice.

"Oh my god."

Immediately, she leapt out of Andy's arms and ran around the room and to the door, where she jumped into the arms of Luke Beyers. She didn't wrap her legs around him, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her off the ground.

"_What the fuck are you doing here?"_

He just laughed as he walked into the room, still sort of carrying her.

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

"I'm _thrilled _to see you, but you're supposed to be in France."

"Come on, Meg. France is like, two hour's plane ride away. Did you really think I'd miss this?"

He put her back on her feet and she kissed his cheek, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Everyone, this is Luke. Lukas Beyers. My best friend."

Andy stood up. "Oh absolutely not. This is Luke Beyers, **my **best friend."

Andy and Luke hugged each other, thrilled to see each other again. They had been friends for almost twelve years, since they had entered Brookings. They were also as different as possible.

Andy was realistic, practical. He dealt in medicine and saving lives. He didn't have an artistic bone in his body, but was a great lover of art; because of both Meg and Luke.

Luke was the essence of all things creative. He was a painter and a writer who celebrated life through art. He had started at Brookings as a law student because of his parents. Luke came from an extremely prominent and rich Philadelphia family who had generations of prestigious lawyers. His father had sent him to Brookings to be a law student, but Luke had quickly shown his flair for writing. Mr. Beyer had refused to allow his son to attend Brookings to pursue writing, so at age fourteen, Luke had decided to follow both law, to please his father, and writing for himself. A double major essentially.

But then, Luke had discovered painting.

His natural talent at painting was the kind of thing the art department craved to teach, and he then began in the art program. It was part of the brilliance of Luke really; he graduated from Brookings with Andy with three degrees; law, art, and writing. It was almost unheard of, but it _could_ be done. Having pleased his father by graduating with the law degree, he then told Grant Beyer that he could go to hell, and took off for Paris to further his studies independently.

The talent that Luke had with a brush or a pen was unbelievable. His paintings were brilliant, and his stories absolutely gripping. He was scheduled to make a debut in March with his paintings, and he had already written his first book, which was undergoing the publishing process.

So, essentially, Luke was creative. It was why he and Meg had connected so well. She was an imaginative being herself, with her skating and music, and they had clicked almost immediately. Luke was probably one of the reasons that Meg and Andy had gotten together in the first place.

"Hey brother."

They had been like brothers, really. Neither of them were exceedingly close with their families- especially Luke-, and the two of them had been a team.

"Listen, you've met Robby and Amilee and Lissa."

"Yeah. Last year, in New York."

"It's nice to see you again."

Lissa smiled shyly, and Amilee shook his hand. "Meg tells me you've been in Paris."

"Yes."

"My hometown."

He smiled, and she winked. She did that a lot.

Luke was attractive in the very typical artistic way. He wore his hair a little longer than Andy's but it had a life of it's own. When he painted or wrote, he ran his hands through it so many times that it resembled a forest. He was lean- thinner than Andy, and stood at five foot nine. He also had an interesting sense of dress. He wore a lot of scarves, wrapped around his neck multiple times, with all kinds of vintage jackets and shirts, and well fitting jeans. He had glasses that resembled the old NASA glasses, and he wore Birkenstocks habitually. He spoke in a smooth voice, and had an intricate personality.

"Luke, it's so fucking good to see you."

Meg put her arms around Andy and Luke, and kissed both of their cheeks.

"I think we need to go get dinner. There's a Thai place two streets over."

The door opened, and Pavel walked in. "I think you need all of your friends to leave so you can get some rest."

Meg wanted to argue, but Andy just kissed the top of her head. "Pavel's right. You need your sleep. Come on."

Amilee and Lissa took the admonishing glance from Pavel, and ducked out of the room, followed by Robby, who looked Pavel in the eyes.

"I don't take orders from anyone…I am, however, going to go and eat dinner with my coach, and then go to bed. But only because it's what I want to do."

"Get out."

Robby kissed Meg's cheek, slapped Andy's back, and left. Mark and Derek then said goodbye to Meg, and walked out with Luke, who gently kissed Meg's lips and her forehead.

"Good Luck Maggie."

Once Meg and Andy were alone (Pavel had stepped into the hallway), he kissed her with all he was worth.

"Ooh. Do that again."

"If I do that, then I'll never leave."

She leaned in to kiss him again. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"Good luck tomorrow. We'll be right there watching."

"What do you say we forget this whole ice skating thing and rent a room at one of those couples resorts? There's a great one in north Denmark, I hear."

Andy laughed. "What did you ever do without me? You have no will power."

"I had will power until I met you."

"That's sweet, I think."

"You're in Copenhagen. This is one of my favorite cities. Sunday night, you and I are going to have **fun**. They'll be dinner, and we can go ice skating in the Pirokov Square, and then go for desert at Rilnaitv's-"

"I will be happy to do all that with you and the rest of our friends. And we can talk about it. I love you. Goodnight."

He kissed her again, and left her in the hotel room, passing Pavel in the hall.

"She's all yours."

Pavel nodded, and went in. Andy took the elevator down to the lobby, where Mark, Derek and Luke were waiting in the hotel bar. Mark and Derek seemed to like Luke, who had a great sense of humor.

"Alright. She's in for the night. What should we do? Find a bar?"

Luke nodded."I'm up for that. Let me ask the concierge."

He went up to the concierge, and began chatting with him in French. Two minutes later, he returned.

"There's a great lounge bar about four blocks away."

"Sounds good."

They began to walk, with Derek and Mark in front and Andy and Luke just behind. The two boys talked the entire way there, catching up, and when they got to the lounge, they were seated in a four seat high top table. The waitress came up with some bread and took their orders; beer for Andy and Derek, scotch for Luke and Mark.

"So. Luke. What do you write?"

"Fiction. Short stories."

"Luke has a book coming out in June."

"Wow. That's great."

"Thanks. It's a short novel, actually, so I'm pretty excited. Right now I'm focusing on my painting."

It seemed to go like that. When he was in the mindset to paint, he couldn't write. As soon as he began writing, he had trouble painting. It seemed that his creative thought process could switch from one to the other. So far, he was usually able to work in one sphere or the other.

"But Andy's told us you have a law degree?"

"Yeah, but that was only to please my father. He threatened to stop paying for Brookings if I didn't do a law degree, and I seemed to be okay at the process in school, so I just went ahead and got it, then went to Paris in June to spend some time there."

"Do you think you'll end up there?"

"I think that eventually, I'll buy a permanent residence in Seattle. Something small. I travel a lot, so it's just nice to have a home base, and we had always talked about me just sort of keeping a home near Meg and Andy."

Andy snorted. "We want him to just move in for good- he travels so fucking much, and he takes up like, two rooms, so that's what we would like. But he's being irritating."

"You and Meg need your space."

"You know you're always welcome with us. She loves you as much as I do."

"Newlyweds need their space."

Mark laughed. "They aren't newlyweds. This one right here will be a newlywed in two weeks, but Meg and Andy won't be newlyweds for-"

"I'm proposing at Christmas."

There was a silence at the table as Mark and Derek looked at him in shock. The waitress came back with their tray of drinks, and set them down. As soon as she had left, Mark and Derek clinked beer glass and scotch tumbler and began to drink.

"I mean, I'm planning on it. It's time. I need her to know that I'm committed, regardless of how her skating career goes. I love her. So much. And, I uh. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. So, I guess…this is me asking you for that ring, as soon as you get back from your honeymoon with Meredith. Which translates, roughly into me…asking you for permission."

Even Mark had to restrain himself from making a comment due to the gravity of the situation. Derek was still shocked and couldn't really say anything. He just stared at Andy, unsure of how to even really proceed.

"I wanted to ask you in private. I did. But…I uh. I think this works. I'm asking to be part of your family."

"You already are part of my family."

Mark hesitantly put his hand on Derek's shoulder, as Luke discreetly put his hand on Andy's upper knee in a silent show of support.

"I think Derek is worried that you guys are too young."

"I love her. We share the same house. We have joint accounts. Everything is in both of our names. We share…a bed. But I want to make it official. I want to make her my wife."

"You know, when I first met you, it wasn't that you were older than her. Or that I worked with you. I mean, it was, but it was that she was so ready to have everything. And I want it for her. I was just so sad because I'd lost her. That she wasn't my little girl anymore and I had missed so much. But you've changed her. She's more independent and confidant and assertive because of you, and I know how much you love each other. She's already your wife. I can't wait for the ceremony. Of course you have my blessing."

Mark patted Derek's back.

"Mine too. Mine's the one you need."

Andy smirked.

"Does that mean I can call you Uncle Mark?"

"No it does not, asshole."

Andy turned to Luke. "You know this means you have to be there at Christmas. If you miss this, she'll fucking kill you."

"I'll be there. I won't be able to get in till Christmas Eve, though. I have a showing in Paris I have to go to."

"As long as you're in by Christmas Eve, it's fine. I'm also getting her one of those fluffy dogs that she wants."

"She needs a real dog."

"Don't tell me, please. I know."

They drank up, and continued to talk. Eventually, they got onto the subject of the wedding.

"You must be very excited," Luke said.

"I am. I'm thrilled. Meredith is…wonderful."

"I can imagine- Maggie sings her praises. She's thrilled that you've found happiness again. She's also extremely happy that her Aunt Addison is happy with you," he nodded towards Mark.

Mark smiled. "So, I can't figure out how I haven't met you."

"I'm not really the meet the parents type. I was pretty busy at Brookings."

"And when he wasn't busy in the studio, or in the library writing, or studying for his law classes, he was dating girls. Luke here is a regular Casanova."

"Only because you got the best girl there is."

They both smiled, thinking back on the time that Meg had come into their lives. Her relationship with Andy had been absolutely rocky, even after that evening they watched Titanic, and she had met Luke the next day.

There was little question that Luke and Meg would be almost more suited to be together than Meg and Andy were. They had clicked so intensely, and Andy was fully convinced that Luke had fallen in love with Meg almost the moment they had met. Luke, however, had backed away, understanding how deeply Andy had cared for Meg, and had never made any romantic overtures towards her.

Andy trusted Luke with Meg in any situation, because he knew that the two were extremely close. Luke and Robby were one of her four best friends, and she loved them as dearly as she loved Amilee and Lissa, if not more.

"You'll find your Meg. In the meantime, Amilee is a whole lot of fun."

"Please do not fix me up with Meg's friends- you know it'll only end badly."

"So. Mark. What about you. Going to marry Addison?"

"If you know what's good for you, punk, you'll keep your mouth shut. Addison and I are doing just fine, thank you."

"I'm just saying. Meg will have a ring, Meredith will be married…"

Mark rolled his eyes.

"Mind your own business. Meg hasn't said yes yet. She could still grow a brain."

"I need some more alcohol."

------

_**Brookings Academy Crew Match; Brookings vs. Harvard, 3 years earlier.**_

_Meg had walked to the river where the Crew matches were held. The night before with Andy had been amazing, and she was feeling better about their relationship. She still felt a little apprehensive, because they were moving so fast. Still, she had put on her most fetching sundress, which was a lovely blue with white flowers, and put on a pair of white lace flats. She had put her hair in curls, and tied a white bow at the base of her neck to make a lose ponytail._

_By the bank, lots of people were already seated, on picnic blankets and on the grass, enjoying the morning sunshine._

_Several of the girls from her dorm went to the crew matches because they knew the boys on the team. They had brought blankets to sit on, and Meg had brought a parasol because she was absolutely not allowed to get any darker. They put the blanket next to some others that had people they knew, and sat down to watch. _

_Andy's race was fourth, and supposedly the most important and contested race that there would be. _

"_Do you know how long till Andy's race?"_

_Lying at the edge of one of the blankets was another guy, leaning back on his elbows. He had chestnut colored hair and wore light wash jeans with a white dress shirt and a short leather jacket. When Meg asked, he turned around and smiled._

"_Andy Carmichael? About an hour, I think."_

"_Thanks. What's he rowing?"_

"_One thousand yards._ _The big one."_

_Meg smiled. "You'll have to forgive me. I've only been to one other regatta. If the course is only five hundred yards now…"_

"_That's what's beautiful this one thousand. At the other end, there'll be another boat waiting, and they'll transfer and come back. It really tests the endurance. And it's two man, which makes it really intense."_

"_You seem to know a lot about rowing."_

"_I used to row myself. Now, I paint."_

"_Yes, you've got some yellow by your eyebrow."_

_He patted his eyebrow to wipe it away and smiled. _

"_My apologies._ _I can never seem to get it all off. I'm an embarrassment."_

"_You should stop going out in public. What do your friends say about you?"_

"_I'm the shame of my frat."_

_He said it with such a serious face that she burst out laughing. He smiled as well, and scooted himself up just a few feet so they were a bit nearer._

"_What do you paint?"_

"_Everything really._ _Right now I'm focused on life portraits."_

"_And before that?"_

"_I had a strange attraction to landscapes."_

_She laughed again. "You do paint everything."_

"_The portraits I've been doing lately are traditional. You know, sitting and having your portrait drawn. But I really enjoy doing drawings of people. Being still and all."_

"_And what do you paint with?"_

"_Everything, again._ _Charcoals, a lot. Oils. I do watercolors, but they aren't as bold as I like."_

"_Do you have a favorite artist, then?"_

_Luke smiled, and shook his head. "Not a singular one, but of course I'm influenced by others' work."_

"_Like who?"_

"_For oils, I've always loved Rembrant."_

"_His portraits?"_

"_Yes. I really focused on oil portraits for a while. They're difficult for me."_

"_I like Rembrant. There's something interesting about his subjects. I always wondered who they were. How they lived their lives and why. Especially his paintings that showed the whole body."_

"_Who do you like?"_

"_I'm quite traditional about what I love, but I also love seeing difference in art. But I do love the regular crowd. Van Gogh, but only for the color. I like the combinations. Mary Cassatt always makes me feel happy."_

"_What about Monet?"_

_"I love Monet. Really. Woman With a Parasol, a lot, and the gardens and…Poplars."_

"_Woman with Parasol facing left, or right, or with child?"_

_He wondered if she would know. She seemed somewhat educated about art._

"_Left._ _It's like he caught her just as she turned to look. But my absolute favorite is by Renoir."_

"_Let me guess then. Two Sisters on the Terrace?"_

"_No."_

"_The Girl With a Watering Can."_

"_Nope."_

"_Dance in the City?"_

"_Sorry."_

"_Alright._ _Tell me then."_

"_Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise."_

"_Interesting._ _Why?"_

_Meg took a deep breath and mulled it over, picturing it in her head. _

"_I just…they way they're lounging. There's something innocent and relaxed and somehow sexual about it. I don't know. I've seen it so many times. Every time I'm in Chicago, I just love looking at it. It works, because I also love Paris Street, a Rainy Day, by Caillebotte. Maybe that makes sense; they were only painted two years apart. The Renoir in 1875 and the Caillebotte '77. I like that period a lot." _

"_You know a lot about art."_

"_I took some art history classes. And I've read a lot. I didn't really settle on my major till late."_

"_And it is?"_

"_English Literature with a…minor or double in Business."_

"_Are you doing undergraduate?"_

"_Yes. I'm not following graduate studies here. Are you just an art major?"_

_Luke laughed a little bit. "Not exactly. I'm in the writing program, as well as law studies."_

"_You're a triple? Wow. That's intense. Why all three?"_

"_Writing and Art are for me. Law is for my father."_

"_And once you finish at Brookings?"_

"_I'll be pursuing art and writing."_

"_The creative writing program, then?"_

"_Yes. Fiction."_

"_And what kind of fiction?"_

"_The kind that's like non-fiction."_

_Meg smiled, and accepted a glass of lemonade from one of the other girls on her blanket. _

"_Who's your favorite writer?"_

"_I don't have one. Writers who have favorite writers can't really write. I'd rather guess your favorite."_

"_Alright."_

_He studied her for a long moment, his intense stare making her blush._

"_I'd say Austen, but I think she's too simple for you. So then I'd go to Bronte. But the question is Charlotte or Emily."_

"_What makes you think I like either of them?"_

"_Let's call it a feeling. Anyway. I'd go with Emily. You look like you would love a tortured soul, and Jane Eyre isn't that tortured, it only appears like it. Wuthering Heights seems more like you."_

_She gave him a small smile. "How did you know?"_

"_Because._ _Well, first- you love Jane Austen, correct?"_

"_Yes."_

"_You're too much like her books. You're an Austen character; lovely and serene. Too beautiful. And you love Austen because you relate, but people connect most deeply with characters that are just like them but different. Jane Eyre is boring. There's nothing about her to endear her."_

"_Alright._ _So you can read me like a book."_

"_Maybe._ _Let's see. You tell people that Pride and Prejudice is your favorite because you think Wuthering Heights is too dark."_

"_You're wrong. Pride and Prejudice isn't my favorite."_

"_No?"_

"_I prefer Persuasion. Have you read Austen at all?"_

"_Of course._ _I've read all the classics. But I stand corrected."_

_Meg smirked a little bit."So. What else do I like?"_

"_I'd say…Little Women? You look like you might think you're something like Jo. And Anne of Green Gables. You secretly love the imaginative redhead. And…let me think. You look like just the sort to like wild romances. So let's see. Something older…Gone With the Wind?"_

_Meg's mouth dropped open as she looked at him in disbelief. He had just named some of her favorite novels. _

"_How did you know."_

_Luke smiled, the gesture lighting up his eyes. "I like to guess things about people. Books, especially."_

"_I'm not just a romantic ninny, you know."_

"_No?"_

"_I like the Russian writers as well. Tolstoy. Dostoevsky. Pushkin. Chekhov is my favorite."_

"_I like Checkhov too. By the way, I'm Luke Beyers."_

_He lazily held out his hand, and Meg smiled as she took it. "Maggie Shepherd."_

_Luke's face froze for a moment, turned sad, then resigned, as he smiled to himself, and gave a half laugh.  
_

"_You Meg...__Andy's Meg."_

_She nodded. "Yes, I suppose. I met Andy a few months ago."_

"_You're an ice skater."_

"_Yes. Are you very good friends with Andy?"_

_Luke nodded slowly. "He's my best friend. We're roommates."_

"_Oh. I'm glad we met. Andy and I had a long talk last night. I think…that I'm going to be around more."_

"_I'm glad. And yes, Andy told me."_

_Luke felt the pangs of disappointment inside. He had thought the girl sitting on the bank was beautiful. She'd looked so fresh and lovely that he'd been immediately transfixed. The light blue sundress showed off her figure, and gave her an old sixties look, and her face had been clean and with minimal make up. _

_He'd heard her laugh with the other girls, and he'd turned around just in time to see hear ask about the race. _

_An English_ _lit minor. How delightful. Luke would have loved to take her for coffee and talk with her about literature. She was just the sort of romantic that he was, and he liked her immediately. _

_Until she'd said her name. Meg Shepherd. Knowing his best friend as he did, Luke knew how taken he'd been with the ice skater from the girls dorm across the quad. He'd pursued her relentlessly, sending her flowers and chocolates and attempting to court her. And he'd been disappointed when she hadn't really returned the sentiment. At the time, Luke had been amused by the sheer number of bouquets and attempts that Andy had made. But then, Andy had come home the night before on Cloud 9. He had immediately called the two other girls he was dating, in groups and just to pass time, and told them that he was in a committed relationship and wouldn't be dating anymore. Something about Meg Shepherd had bewitched him, and Luke could certainly understand it._

"_So how long have you known Andy?"_

"_A long time._ _We came in the same year."_

"_He told me once that his roommate was his best friend. That you were like brothers."_

"_Yes... I'd do anything for Andrew."_

_Including staying away from Meg in any romantic sense._

_----_

**_A/N: I hope you liked it. Yes, there's a section in there straight out of Pride and Prejudice the movie._**

**_ Luke is going to be important. _**

**_In my head, he looks like Robert Pattinson._**

_**Please Review**!_


	36. Short

After the men returned to the hotel, Derek and Mark went to bed. Andy sat in the hotel bar with Luke, both of them drinking scotch. They talked over their days at Brookings, and Luke's life in Paris.

"So. Tell me about them."

"Who?"

"Your _women_."

Luke almost spit out the scotch he had in his mouth. "My _women?_"

"Come on. Tell me. I know you've been living it up in Paris."

"I haven't, actually. I've been all about my painting."

"That is such bullshit. How come you'll tell Meg but not me?"

Smiling, Luke just tried to sip on his scotch.

"What if I've abandoned my philandering ways?"

"Impossible."

He sighed and leaned back in the armchair, his legs outstretched and crossed at the ankles, and his butt almost at the edge of the seat. Andy sat upright, one ankle crossed over his other knee.

"Alright. There are three girls."

"Of course there are."

"Vittoria is a ceramicist and I met her at a party. Marrianne is a dancer in the Paris ballet. And, Safina is an opera singer. She's understudying at the Paris Opera."

"Three women in high places."

"They're wonderful. Delightful women. Vittoria is talented and serious, Marianne is graceful and charismatic, and Safina is difficult but…charming."

"How did you meet the other two?"

Luke thought back on meeting Marianne and Safina, and smiled. "Safina was a guest at a dinner party that I attended through a friend of Vittoria's, and Marianne I saw dance in the ballet, and knew I had to meet her."

"How delightfully romantic."

"Maybe. They're good friends, really."

"Good friends you sleep with."

"Not at all. I don't sleep with Safina or Marianne. And the relationship with Vittoria is casual. Really. It's friendship. I can't get attached to anyone."

Andy looked down into his glass of scotch, swirling it around a couple times. Then, softly, he asked the question that hung between them.

"Because of Meg?"

Luke waited a long moment before answering, wanting to explain.

"No. Not exactly. It's not _because _of Meg. It's because now that I've seen the two of you, I don't want anything except…_my_ Meg. Does that make sense?"

"Yes."

"You know, I …I really liked her that day. I did. When we first met. There's just…something about her."

"Yeah. There is."

They had never actually had the conversation. Both of them were treading lightly.

"I just adored her that day. She was everything I thought I was looking for. And for a while I really thought that I had…missed out. That she was everything I wanted but that it was meant to be you- or missed opportunity, or whatever. But…She's not it for me. She's the one for _you_. Meg's wonderful. She's my closest friend after you."

"But?"

"But she's not what I need. I don't know what it is, but I'm looking for something. My painting is suffering because of it. I keep hitting a roadblock."

Andy's face scrunched up as he regarded his friend. This was the first time he was hearing it. All of Luke's phone calls and e-mails until then had indicated that he was doing well and loving life in Paris.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. It's just like something's missing. My paintings have been mediocre. I mean, they'll sell well. I have buyers. But the writing is suffering too. Everything seems trite. I haven't kept a thing I've written in two months. I just write and discard."

"Have you told Meg?"

"No. I tell Meg and she'll start worrying and bothering me. Instead I've taken a break. For a little while. I'm hoping that living life up will help."

"And this is the reason for your three women."

"They inspire me in different ways, I suppose. Being with Vittoria makes me feel compelled to work. That can be helpful, occasionally. Safina represents the art, I suppose. She's full of that artistic, intrinsic quality. And Marrianne is sweetness personified. Innocent and delightful. They're my muses."

"You need to get out of Paris."

"Maybe."

"I need you there at Christmas. I need you to be there when I ask her."

"I love her like a sister you know. I want nothing but the best for her."

Andy put his hand on Luke's shoulder. "I know…I do."

"Good…You know, I'm excited to see her skate again in person. It's been a while. Not since last November, at least."

"It's good, Luke. Really good."

"And what about her weight? That's always been such a bone of contention between the two of you."

"I can't stop it. She wins in Torino, she's finished with the sport. The agreement is until the Games. After that, she'll gain it back, or something will change."

"I can't wait to see the house. And proposal. God, Andrew, she'll go nuts."

"That's the plan."

They sat there drinking for a little bit longer, before heading up to the room to get some rest. Mark and Derek had graciously taken one bed and were sleeping when they got there, leaving Andy and Luke free to take the other double bed. They fell asleep almost immediately, the combination of jet lag and scotch too much for them.

----------

Meg's routine the next day was no different than usual. She woke and went for a run with Pavel, then showered and did meditation. At the hair salon, she waited patiently for her make up and hair to be put in place, and then made her way to the arena, where she stretched and warmed up.

Since she had stood second the previous year, and was still ranked near the top of the list thanks to the points from Nationals and the Concert of Europe, she was scheduled to go near the end.

She waited with Pavel, stretching and meditating, occasionally riding the stationary bike. The other skaters milled about, each of them in their own world. Amilee stood almost entirely at an old ballet warm up bar, going over the motions of warm up. Somewhere in the complex, Lissa was also going through her routine, quietly and in complete seclusion.

Eventually, Meg got dressed in the skating costume, and applied a fresh coat of lipstick. Her make-up had held, as had her hair, and she eagerly waited for her turn to skate.

She was supposed to be fourth to the end, followed by Amilee, Lissa and Francesca, from Italy. It was so easy for Meg to forget that her two best friends were two of the best figure skaters in the whole world. That the three of them were considered to be the best girls in the world, with just a handful of others.

Meg's own ability at skating seemed to be almost outside of her life. Before the move to Seattle, people had lauded her abilities. She had been one of the favorites to win Nationals, as well as the Championships and there was a lot of talk about her medaling at the Olympics.

Of course, after the move, people had started talking in a different way. They said something was wrong, that she had decided to quit ice skating, that she couldn't possibly make a comeback. Meg wasn't sure she had ever done anything that would necessitate her making a comeback; she had won the last competition she'd entered before her move to Seattle, and she had been number two in the world when she'd moved.

Hardly the pits of despair.

"I need you to get my back."

Pavel nodded, and helped Meg to do a backbend. When she was a perfect U, he helped her to walk nearer he feet, and ran his hands along the muscles on her stomach to loosen them.

Then he helped her up, and raised her hands above her head to help the circulation.

"Alright. Shoes on."

Meg sat on a bench and Pavel laced up her skates, then put the flatbeds on.

"How do you feel."

"I feel wonderful. I love this short skate."

"Good. I'm glad. You've worked hard."

Ten minutes later, Meg got onto the ice for her warm up lap. She had five minutes of ice time with everyone else, and another two by herself because she was up next.

The arena in Copenhagen was enormous, and for show purposes, used the dark lighting with a spotlight. The crowd applauded as she took the ice, and she gave a quick wave of acknowledgement. She got used to the feel of the ice, and took a practice lap along with all the other skaters. Meg prepared and did her first triple combination, then the second one, and the third. All three had perfect landings and Meg felt good as she quickly practiced one of her footwork combinations.

Amilee whizzed by in an outfit of pure gold, which set off her blonde locks beautifully. Lissa was wearing a celery green halter styled costume, with rhinestones at the bust and around the neck. Francesca the Lovely was wearing an orange costume, and Meg thought bitterly that only an Italian could pull off the gown like that.

At the Italian Nationals competition, Francesca had beat Lissa by just a few tenths of a point, and Meg knew that Lissa was eager to kick the other Italian girls' ass. Meg had absolutely no relationship with Francesca; they had competed against each other for years, but Francesca didn't train in Zurich, and spent little time in Moscow, so they had never really had opportunity to get to know each other.

Eventually, all the skaters left the ice but Meg, and she continued to lap and do little footwork combinations. The announcer gave her introduction in Danish, then English.

"Now, introducing Margaret Shepherd, Champion of the American Nationals, Silver Medalist at Last Years World Championships."

She extended her arms as she did another lap, for the benefit of the crowd.

They cheered and she looked at Pavel, who nodded his head. At that point, everything else ceased to matter, and Meg simply focused on her routine.

She posed and waited for the music to start, and began her opening footwork combination. Once again, she was right with her music. The trick was for her to always be slightly ahead of her music, because then she appeared to be right with it.

The first footwork combination went well. Meg just had to get over that for her to take confidence in the piece, and she excitedly went through the choreography. It was fun, the can-can. More fun than she had experienced on any other short program piece. Because of the music and the challenging choreography, it was always fun for her to do for a crowd.

She prepped for the triple-lutz, and landed it perfectly, with enough speed to get good air on her axle, and the toe loop. Meg absolutely loved the feeling that she got coming out of a perfect jump; when she got just the right angle and speed and the music was with her. It made her feel on top of the world.

The second footwork combination went well. She didn't hesitate at all, just let her instinct guide her, and her feet didn't trip up. Her split jump had a lot of air, and her double crossed lance looked beautiful. Meg threw herself into the footwork combination; the long one that took her almost from one end of the rink to the other. It was in time with the music, and she eagerly prepared for her second jump, the axle-lutz-Salchow combination.

Her angle was too steep for the axle landing, but she dug deep and launched off the ground for the lutz. Coming out of the Salchow, however, she felt it.

The tiniest wobble of her ankle.

Meg felt her heart drop into her stomach as the fear radiated up her leg. Her bad ankle had cost her the championships last year. She couldn't afford a screw up now.

As she went into more footwork, she assessed the situation. It wasn't paining, and it wasn't hurt; she just knew that there was something wrong with it, and the last set of jumps were going to be bad.

The most important thing was to get through it. She ignored everything about her ankle and went through all her choreography, before finally setting up the last combination. The worst thing she could do was to putt an excess amount of pressure, so she sped up and took the jumps as fast as possible. The Salchow was first, and she winced as she felt her ankle tighten, followed by a triple flip, and finally the lutz.

It was on the lutz that she nearly lost it, feeling her whole leg dip a little too deep. Instead, she threw her outside leg around faster than usual so that the pressure was off the ankle.

It was sore. That much was obvious; throbbing inside her skates.

She finished in her layback spin, concentrating on keeping her form, and doing the best she could.

When the music stopped, she was right there with it, ending her spin right on the beat. Everyone started to clap, and she quickly turned to bow, using her other leg to bend. She didn't even see the faces in the crowd as she skated to the edge of the rink, where Pavel was waiting.

Standing there, Pavel kissed her forehead and then her cheeks. He picked her up as one would a child and walked with her to the kiss and cry. The camera flashes went off as the photographers took a flurry of pictures. It looked like an intimate picture of a coach and skater, just happy for a good performance, but Meg knew better. Pavel had seen what had happened.

They sat on the kiss and cry bench, unaware of the flashes from photographers or the stadium full of people.

"What happened?"

His voice was low, a whisper by her ear.

"I don't know. I felt it in the first Salchow."

"Can you feel anything."

Meg tried to move her toes. "I don't think it's too bad. But it hurts. A little."

"We'll look at it as soon as we're away. I don't want the press."

"I know."

They waited for her scores. The 54.3 had been awarded for her starting value, which was expected. Meg bit her lip as she waited for her technical execution score. Finally, it flashed on the big scoreboard.

44.3

_Ouch. _

Her face showed her disappointment, but she quickly changed it to a grin for the crowd. A 44.3 was low, especially after her 46.7 at the US Nationals. Meg had been expecting something in the 45 range. She was pissed.

"Come on."

She waved at the crowd once more, and followed Pavel off the podium, to the backstage area. Once she was there, Robby suddenly appeared, amongst the thirty or so skaters waiting in the hallway and warm up rooms.

"Hey Sweeting. Give us a hug."

He swept her up into a hug and before she knew it had swung her onto his back, piggy back style. Meg was so startled she hung on as he held her knees and began walking with Pavel.

Robby had been standing with Pavel to watch the performance so of course he would know. And, knowing that it was important that the matter was kept quiet, he was treating her as he usually would in front of all the other skaters, pretending to be carrying her for fun.

In the dressing room, he put her down, and unlaced her skates. He hadn't yet skated, and was dressed in his black pants and blue silk shirt short program outfit. As the reigning World Championships Champion and number 1 in the world on the men's tour, he would be last.

Pavel felt all over her ankle, asking Meg questions and rolling it around. She could read his face; it wasn't good. Not broken or fractured, but there was an uneasiness about him that made Meg scared.

She kicked them both out of the dressing room so that she could have one of the aide's help her change. She put as little pressure on her ankle as possible, and quickly put on her jeans and sweatshirt. Then, she threw everything into her athletics bag and got Robby to help her again. She held onto his back while Pavel took the bag, and they went to the stadium exit, where there was a car waiting. Robby kissed her cheek, then went back inside to do his warm up.

At the hotel, Pavel carried her into the lobby and elevator, then to her room. He deposited Meg into the shower, along with a change of clothes, then left so she could undress and shower quickly.

She emerged from the bathroom wearing tiny shorts and a longsleeved sleeping t-shirt. Pavel already had everything ready, so she crawled to the middle of the bed, where the pillows had been arranged so she could comfortably sit up. She curled one leg Indian style, and extended the other over the blanket. Pavel wrapped an icepack around her ankle and then wrapped a towel around it, setting a timer for fifteen minutes.

Meg just sighed and leaned against the pillows as she flipped on the tv.

"I can't believe this.

"Don't worry. It could still be skatable."

She looked at him seriously. "Pavel, it hurts. Not unbearably so, but it's sore."

"Let's hope it's just inflamed and the muscles irritated. We can get the swelling down- it's definitely starting to swell more."

Shaking her head, she rubbed her eyes with one hand. "Why now? _God._ I knew it. _**I knew it.**_ I could feel it, right on the axle, I knew the landing was too deep."

"You can't always have the perfect angle. You have an injury. There's nothing to be done about that but take care of it."

"It's over. I've lost the Championships."

"You don't know that."

"This is last year all over again."

Meg had held out hope at the arena, but seeing her ankle in the shower had depleted that notion. It was red and swollen and looked generally unhappy.

"Stop it. I mean it. We ice and heat this tonight, and you know it could be better by tomorrow, let alone by the time you skate on Sunday."

Meg just looked like she was about to cry. Pavel sighed uncomfortably and leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

"What would make you feel better?

"Elderflower Cordial."

Groaning, Pavel got off the bed. "Fine. But don't blame me when you can't sleep."

He left to go downstairs, and Meg smiled a little bit. Elderflower Cordial was a Danish soft drink like liquid that was mostly sugar. It was an extremely rare treat for her, and she usually allowed herself to have one every time she was in Copenhagen.

Flipping channels, Meg smiled when she found a re-run of _Friends_, dubbed in Danish. She watched it, and accepted the Elderflower Cordial when Pavel returned. He took the ice pack off her ankle, and wrapped a heat pad instead.

"Flex for me."

She flexed her foot, then pointed at his command. Pavel rubbed the bones in her foot that connected to her ankle, and lightly petted her swollen ankle.

"We'll know tomorrow."

He was being exceptionally calm, but Meg understood. If she couldn't compete in the second round of the championships, then it was a blow, to be sure. It wasn't devastating for Pavel, however, because she would have ample time to heal whatever injury she had and practice before the Olympics in February.

He sat in an armchair playing with something on his blackberry while Meg watched the Friends episode though she scowled the entire time. About forty-five minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and Pavel opened it to let her family in.

Derek, Mark and Luke were alarmed and surprised to see Meg laid up in bed looking injured, but Andy's eyes went sad. He'd sensed something was wrong; had wondered why Pavel had carried her to the kiss and cry, and been suspicious at her general behavior.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. My ankle just…rolled, I think. During my landing." She gave a sad little laugh. "Too bad Callie isn't here."

Pavel cleared his throat. "We ice and heat tonight. Tomorrow we'll see the doctor first thing. It's possible she could still skate. Perhaps it's just an inflamed muscle."

"Or perhaps it's a sprain."

Andy studied Meg carefully, trying to figure out her attitude. She seemed resigned and disappointed, but there were no tears. A tantrum _could _be on the horizon.

Meg saw Andy's cautious appraisal of her and narrowed her eyes, glaring at him.

"_Yes_?"

"Ah…nothing."

Luke sank onto the right side of the bed and wrapped an arm around Meg.

"What do you want to do? Watch a movie? I know you have that ridiculous case carrying every movie ever made."

"Will you all watch with me?"

They all made some sort of affirmative response except Pavel, who left them to their movie watching after giving them instructions for her ankle.

"Okay. I want to watch Sleeping Beauty."

Mark looked sick while Derek appeared thoughtful, wondering how long it had been since he'd seen an animated movie. Luke opened his mouth as if to argue, while Andy went to get the case.

"Are you sure, sweetie? You have all those…action movies?"

Meg smiled at him, sugary sweet. "If you'd all rather, we could watch Titanic. Or Gone With the Wind."

"I love Sleeping Beauty."

"Disney rocks."

"Disney princesses are hot."

The responses came all at once, and she looked at them with distaste while Andy put the movie in.

Derek sank into the Armchair, while Mark climbed in on Meg's other side. Once the movie was in, Andy sat on the floor against the bed. He had his timer set so that he could put the ice pack on, and would alternate ice and heat every fifteen minutes.

Once the movie started, Derek and Luke actually turned their attention to it. Mark was asleep in fifteen minutes, snoring quietly. Meg elbowed him sharply in the side, and he groaned as he sat himself up some more. Gathering her into his arms, he slowly rubbed her neck and upper back, while Andy continued to attend to her ankle.

Meg had always loved Sleeping Beauty. The music was delightful, and the songs were sweet. Halfway through, Pavel came back to the room with food for everyone, including a big sandwich for Meg.

"Oh, so now that my ankle is ruined I'm allowed to eat."

Andy shot her a disapproving glare. "Maggie, cut the attitude."

The door opened again, and Robby walked in with Amilee and Lissa. Both of the girls had their make up, but all three were dressed back in street clothes. Both of the girls immediately began clucking over Meg as Andy paused the movie, and Robby sat next to him on the foot of the bed. Lissa perched herself on the side of the giant bed, a few inches from Luke, while Amilee plopped herself on Mark.

"Ooof. For someone so petite you certainly weight a lot."

"It's my density. How's the ankle?"

"It's probably okay. I'm most likely making a big fuss for no reason at all."

"You can never be too careful."

Meg smiled at her friend, and then surveyed Lissa and Robby. "How did it go?"

Lissa gave a so-so shrug, but Robby grinned. "What can I say? I'm the master."

It was true. Robby was an excellent skater. He was expected to take the gold at Torino, if he did what he was capable of doing. It sometimes made Meg sick, how good he was.

"I'm fine. Pavel wants my ankle iced and heated tonight, before we go to the doctor tomorrow."

"Well, there's not much else you can do."

"No. So don't stay here with me because I'm mopey and focused on my Disney movie. Go entertain that gorgeous boyfriend of yours."

Lissa blushed, because Amando had indeed come with her to Copenhagen, along with her family. Their relationship had become serious and stable, since he had flown to see her in the Concert of Europe, and Meg was happy for her friend.

"I don't want to leave you!"

"Lissa, get out. For real."

She kissed Meg's cheek, and stood up to leave. Robby looked unsure, and Meg shot him a look.

"Robby?"

He looked a bit sheepish, but grinned at her. "Nothing."

Robby had been pursuing one of the pairs' skaters for the last few months, and Meg knew that the Dannish girl had agreed to go out with him after the short programs.

"Don't be an idiot. Go on."

"I'm not leaving you here with your ankle in pieces and your crazy family and that blonde thing."

"My ankle is fine. Go have fun with her."

He winked and kissed her forehead, then dropped a kiss on Amilee's as well, and shook hands with Andy before leaving the hotel room. Andy put the movie back on, and they all settled in, Amilee remaining in Mark's lap. As the Disney movie continued, Andy alternated heat and cold on her ankle, taking excellent care of her.

When it had finished, Amilee said goodnight, and went to her own room, while Derek, Mark and Luke went downstairs for a drink. Andy put the lights off again, and carried her into the bathroom so she could get ready for bed. When she got back into the bed, he helped her to put one leg on top of the blanket, the ankle on a pillow and covered her leg with a coverlet so she wouldn't be cold. Then, he set his phone alarm to vibrate every half hour, and climbed into bed with her, holding the phone under his pillow.

Meg dropped off immediately, but Andy got up every thirty minutes to change her ice and heat packs. She woke up once, in the middle of the night as he was getting back into the bed.

"Andy…you don't have to keep doing it."

He just kissed her neck and pulled her closer. "Of course I do."

"Get some sleep."

Andy just smiled sadly. "I like doing it. I haven't always been able to."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Go to sleep, babe. You need to rest."

She was exhausted, so she easily followed his command, and he quickly followed her into dreamland, until his phone buzzed in his hand thirty minutes later.

-----

_**The World Championships Long Program, 1 year earlier**_.

_She sat on the bench in one of the fluorescently lit hallways, absolutely sobbing. Pavel knelt on the floor, her skate propped on his lap. He was trying to calm her down, as was Robby, sitting next to her on the bench with his arms around her. Neither of them were having any luck. _

"_I don't know what happened."_

"_Meg, calm down. It's going to be fine." _

"_NO. NO it's not going to be fine. Did you see me? I practically fell on my ass out there."_

"_But you didn't."_

"_I two footed the landing."_

_Robby started to say something again, but she just cried harder. "It's over. There's no way that my score is going to beat Amilee. I was so close! I hate this stupid ankle. And nationals last week."_

_She was crying so hard she was having trouble breathing, and Robby looked at Pavel worriedly as he rubbed her back. Pavel unlaced her skate, and gingerly took it off her foot. Immediately, both men winced, and Meg just turned her face into Robby's neck as the tears poured out. Her ankle was swollen and purple, with something clearly wrong with it. _

"_Maybe it's just a bad sprain."_

_But the coach shook his head. "Fracture. If it's not broken."_

_She gasped at that, hiccupping and crying and looking an absolute mess. Robby kissed the crown of her head, but Meg couldn't stop herself from crying. _

"_What about the podium?"_

"_One of the aids will have to carry her. Or we skip and go straight to hospital."_

_They looked at each other, trying to decide, then looked at Meg. "No. I want to get my medal. Can somebody carry me?"_

_Pavel nodded, and immediately went to arrange it. Meg looked sad for a moment longer, then looked at Robby. I need my make up bag. I look like shit, I'm sure."_

"_I don't think you need to worry about that right now-"_

"_I want my make up bag."_

_Not wanting to be responsible for making her more upset, Robby dutifully went to get her make up bag, while Meg hastily wiped off her cheeks. When he had the bag back to her, she put on some base and tried to redo her eye make up. By the time that Amilee had finished skating, she looked somewhat presentable as the scores came up. It was several points higher than Meg's, putting the blonde in first place. Meg's score had been high enough after the short programme to put her in first place, so her lower scores had been enough to keep her in the top four. Lackluster performances by Francesca, Lissa and some German girl had been enough to keep her in second place behind Amilee. _

_She supposed that a silver was better than no medal at all._

_They set up the blocks for the medals ceremony, and she sat on a bench in the kiss and cry area. Amilee tried to say something and hug her, but Meg just shook off the gesture. They both knew it wasn't because Amilee had placed first, and because of the ankle. _

_They had to carry her onto the ice and one of the aids even carried her on the podium, bridal style. She waved her flowers in the air and smiled, but there were tears running down her face._

_---_

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	37. Time to Kill

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At eight am, and they went to an upscale downtown doctor's office where her ankle was seen by a specialist. Meg wore sweatpants and flats, and used crutches to walk across the lobby and into buildings, then sat in the waiting room. She kept her ipod on and went through several playlists before they went right into X-rays. After that, they went in to see the doctor; a shrewd man in his mid fifties who spoke no English, but was fluent in French. For almost ten minutes he studied the ankle, rolling it around and putting his finger on different parts of the bone to feel the way it moved. After that, he began to ask Meg questions; rapid firing questions one after the other. Meg always traveled with extensive doctor's notes and x-rays of her ankle, so any doctor would be able to address a problem with an informed opinion.

The Danish doctor continued to look at the ankle until the X-rays came back in fifteen minutes later, and he put them on the backlight fluorescents to study them. Then he turned his attention back to examining the ankle.

"There's nothing on the X-rays and I'm not feeling anything other than past damages."

Meg held her breath as he continued to feel around her ankle, comparing it with her other ankle and double checking every joint and movement. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but it was difficult not to.

"I think it was just a bad landing. You've taken very good care of it. I can detect the irritation of the muscles, but I don't think you have much to worry about. If you continue the treatment for today and tonight, then it should heal itself well. I would keep off the ice until your practice round and attempt to minimize how you rely on the ankle. Is it possible to favor the other one?"

"Yes. We'll do what we can, though the routine was already choreographed to depend on the other ankle. I didn't want her unbalanced, though…"

"No, that's good. Just rework what you can, keep off until your practice round, and after the performance, give the ankle a week to rest."

They left the office, still using the crutches, and returned to the hotel, where all the men had gathered in Meg's room again. She was helped back into bed, and Pavel explained what the doctor had said.

"That's great news then."

She nodded, still a little bit in shock. "Yeah. He said it was basically just a bad angle landing and that the ankle was just a little swollen from it. But that it was nothing to worry about."

Robby grinned. "Well, that's wonderful."

"I still have to do like thirty six more hours of ice and heat."

"Small price to pay."

She nodded, and gestured to Robby to hand her the dvd case with all of her movies. "You guys should go and explore the city."

"Baby-"

"Come on, Andy. When are you going to be in Copenhagen again? You could go to the zoo. They have elephants."

Andy glanced at Robby who looked decidedly unhappy about the mention of the zoo.

"I should go. I have to meet my coach for some practice. Feel better. I'll be by later."

He ignored Meg's dirty look and kissed the crown of her head before ducking out of the room, leaving Mark, Andy, Derek and Luke. Pavel had wandered to his room to call Meg's doctors in New York, and Mark walked to the drapes to let the light into the room.

"For real, guys. Go wander the city."

Her boyfriend shot her an irritated glance, and eased himself into the armchair. He was so used to lack of sleep that the previous night's activities hadn't exhausted him yet, but he didn't particularly want to go roaming around Copenhagen.

"Meg. Relax."

"Luke? Will you please take him shopping or something."

"Why would I want to go shopping?"

"So you can buy something nice for me. Come on. Amilee will be here soon, and I'm stuck in bed anyway. The four of you can wander the city. Try new food, have adventures. Male bonding."

The four men collectively sighed, but dutifully got up to leave the room. Meg called the front desk and asked for a map to be sent up while the guys got dressed for the cold weather, and also texted Amilee to let her know that she was back from her appointment.

Once the city map had been delivered, Meg took a highlighter from her purse (always prepared was her motto) and marked out a couple streets and places that the guys could visit. She then gave the map to Luke for safeguarding.

"When you get to the Bizantliest circle-"

"That isn't pronounced even a little bit like it's spelled."

"Anyway. The surrounding four blocks are a nice place to hang out. There are a bunch of little café's and shops and nifty little things to look through. Some bookstores you'd like. Stuff like that."

"I'm sure we'll be fine."

They kissed her and left, after putting the Little Mermaid into the dvd player and making sure she was on the side of the bed near the fridge and that the heating pad was plugged in. They hadn't been gone ten minutes when Amilee stumbled in, wearing pink silk pajama pants and a white cotton tshirt that showed both belly and chest.

"Do you buy three sizes too small?"

"Oh shut up."

Amilee climbed in with her, and stretched slowly, letting out a big yawn.

"I hate running. I picked the wrong profession."

"Really? I've always loved it. I don't know why. It's like time is just cleared for me to think. Like journaling."

"Except without the paper and pen and writing."

"Smart ass. Have you heard from Lissa?"

"Nope. She's not in her room, either. I knocked. She must have spent the night with Amando."

"Oh how the mighty have fallen."

"So the ankle?"

Meg told her what the doctor had said, and Amilee helped her to take the icepack off and wrap the ankle in the heat pad. While Meg was stretched out on the bed, Amilee sat cross legged, her golden hair falling in massive curls almost to her elbow's. The locks were a stunning shade of gold with stands of platinum blonde worked in beautifully. Meg's hair was about six inches shorter than Amilee's, and she couldn't wait for it to grow to that length.

"You've been quiet all week, so I haven't said anything. How's your soccer player?"

The French soccer player had appeared promising some months earlier. Meg had hoped that Amilee had finally found an attachment that she could allow herself to hold onto for some time.

"Oh. I'm sure he's fine. We drifted. I always do."

Amilee was not the greatest at relationships. She often got bored, and between the traveling and the practice schedule, it was hard for her to sustain those relationships. Because of that, she had favored athletes, lately, but even that didn't seem to help. Amilee was a beautiful girl. She had the kind of beauty that attracted a certain type of guy: Suave. Charming. Insanely attractive. But underneath all of her beauty was a razor sharp mind with an equally impressive intellect. For her, nobody had the complete package, and Meg knew her friend wouldn't be able to be happy until she could find someone who was her match in every way.

"I thought you really liked him?"

She gave Meg a sad little smile and a half shrug. "You know how it goes. I try- I really do…But…I don't know. It just gets harder and harder to be with them after a while."

"Then why not fuck the schedules and forget the athletes. Don't go for people who you think would understand. Go for someone who interests you."

Amilee looked supremely unhappy.

"I just want to be happy. I've tried to meet people. Business men are boring. They basically see me as arm candy. Athletes understand the schedule but they don't really try to know me. You and Lissa are lucky."

Meg gave a small laugh, and rubbed Amilee's back. "Baby, we're not even twenty-three. I got super lucky with Andrew, and Lissa may not be in this thing with Amando for the long haul."

The other girl just threw her a 'get real' look. Meg had to admit that Lissa was probably in her happily ever after fairytale. Her e-mails had betrayed a happiness that Meg had never sensed in her before. Amando was completely committed and making Lissa a huge priority in his life, regardless of her skating. He was romancing her in the way that Meg knew her friend had always dreamed of, and that made Meg thrilled.

"He seems to be good for her."

"Meg, he's giving her everything she's ever wanted. Not even that, he's like perfection incarnated. He wants her to go to college. To pick a career that she'll be happy with rather than just to be a trophy wife. He wants her to move in with him and help him set up a life that they can both enjoy. He wants her to gain weight and eat what she wants and do whatever makes her happy. Where the fuck am I going to find someone like that?"

In all the years that they had known each other, Meg had never seen Amilee get upset over the status of her love lives. Whenever a relationship ended, she simply shrugged her shoulders and moved on. She had never cared about someone enough to be devastated, and, being a beautiful, fun girl, there were endless men who wanted to take her out and cheer her up- were she to ever appear to need cheering up.

"Maybe you're looking for the wrong thing. You always demand things of life, Ams. You can't do that."

"I'm not demanding happily ever after. I'm just looking for someone I can spend time with and have some fun for more than a few months. I've been skating for over a decade, and I'm tired. What happens when I'm done with this?"

More than Lissa or Meg, Amilee had real cause to worry about that. Despite her superior intellect, she had no degree, having never attended college. She was such a high demand skater in Europe that there was no way that she could have handled the course work with traveling so much. Meg had been able to obtain special permission from Brookings to further her own education, but Amilee hadn't had that opportunity. When she finished skating she would have to start over in something else, with no real career to fall back on. Lissa would have the support of Amando while she did that, so it wasn't so much of a big deal for her. As well as having Andy's support, Meg had a degree from Brookings, which would get her a job with any marketing firm in the world, should she need it.

"You'll figure something out. If nothing else, you'll come to Seattle and live with me while you get a degree in something."

"When did you know that Andy was the one?"

"Come on, Ams."

"No. Seriously. Tell me. We've never had this discussion. All of a sudden he was just there and 'the one' and we were planning your dream wedding with an actual guy in the picture. When did it happen?"

Sighing, Meg unwrapped the heat pad from her ankle as Amilee put the ice wrap on again. She knew what Amilee meant. Andy had just exploded into her life and everything had changed. She had spent every available minute in New York, and extended her stays there as much as possible. The result had been seeing Amilee and Lissa less, and not being as available to them as before. It had been hard for them, but neither girl had ever mentioned that part of it, or made Meg feel bad about it.

"Do you remember that weekend that we were all in Spain?"

Amilee looked at Meg in confusion. "Yes. But…you guys had only been dating a couple months. And you had been gone most of that time."

Andy had flown to Spain for one of their competitions. Meg had wanted him to meet her friends and hadn't been to New York in almost a month, so she had asked him to come out there as it coincided with one of his long weekends.

"That was it."

That had been so early in their relationship that Amilee didn't even know how to respond. She just bit her lip and stared at the tv, playing the Little Mermaid.

"What if I'm just bad at it? What if I never get better and can't get over myself long enough to do this."

"Come on, Amilee. You'll find someone. But Luke isn't seeing anyone, if you're interested-"

"Do not even try and set us up. We have nothing in common."

Meg just frowned, having hoped that Luke and Amilee would hit it off and get married so they could all live one block from each other and live happily ever after.

"Okay. Forget romance. More important; what are we doing in Torino? Staying in the Village?"

"Yeah. I was thinking. Are you staying with Andy?"

She shook her head no, and put the movie volume lower, as King Triton started to ruin Ariel's treasure collection.

"No. I really want to stay in the village. I was thinking we could ask for a triple."

"Perfect. Lissa's staying at the village? Yeah. She wants the whole experience despite the fact that it's in Italy."

"She's going to be so fucking spoiled by the end of this; they'll treat her like a princess."

Since Lissa was Italian, the entire country would be rooting for her. It made things slightly more difficult for the other skaters, but there was always a home favorite. It would be nice to see Lissa so loved, however.

"Do you think the guys will get lost?"

Meg looked a little sheepish. "I mean, it's a definite probability. But they have Luke, so it might not be too bad."

Amilee looked doubtful, but turned her attention back to Meg's ankle to change the ice wrap for the heating pad. Meg was happy that despite the fact that they competed on the ice, she had such good friends, who would always take care of her.

---

_**Spain, Several Years Earlier**_

_They sat at the table, laughing uproariously. The small hotel café had closed to the public some hours earlier, but it was two am and there was nowhere else for them to go. Sitting in the courtyard in the summer air, the four of them were crowded around a metal carved table, Meg, Andy, Amilee and Lissa had been enjoying themselves since they had finished the competition around eight that evening. _

_The bottle of Spanish wine was long gone, but Amilee was the only one who was even slightly tipsy. Lissa didn't drink, and Meg and Andy had long since laughed and eaten off the wine. The air was beautiful, and the four of them made a beautiful painting, aglow with happiness. Meg and Andy sat so close they practically shared chairs, with his arm around her and her entire body curved towards his. He had worn kakhi trousers and one of the white linen shirts that the locals favored in the heat, while Meg looked like she had stepped out of a 1950's catalogue. The powder blue skirt and white blouse with the red buckle belt high on her waist was flattering and pretty, and the look was completed by the long braid she wore to one side._

_The four of them had been trading life stories and experiences, though most of the stories that the girls had all involved each other. Andy kept them regaled with tales from his crew fraternity at Brookings and amused them to no end. It was the first time that Amilee or Lissa had met Andy, and Meg was thrilled with how well the three of them got a long. Andy had charmed them with his personality, understanding how the dynamic ought to work. He flirted with Amilee in the way one flirted with one's girlfriend's best friend, and treated Lissa like a sister. It warmed Meg's heart to see her friends take to Andy so naturally. She had been a little bit worried._

_Eventually, the café owner came out to apologetically tell them that they were closing for the night, and Andy happily settled the bill. _

_As they walked back into the lobby he had one hand heavily over Meg's shoulder, pulling her close to him. Lissa looked happy and relaxed- not a normal occurrence- and Amilee's skin was radiant with pleasure. There was no elevator in the hotel. Just three floors of beautiful wire rimmed staircases, which the group slowly ascended. Everything was open to the air, it seemed, and made the experience like something out of a novel. _

_Amilee and Lissa's door came first, and Lissa threw her arms around Andy to kiss both of his cheeks and hug him._

"_It was so nice to meet you."_

"_You as well. I hope we'll see each other soon."_

_She then did the same with Meg, who would see her in less than two days in Zurich. Amilee went in with her, and gave Andy a little peck on the lips, then kissed Meg as well._

"_Goodnight, mon amie."_

_With a naughty little wink, she followed Lissa into the room and shut the door, causing Meg to giggle uncontrollably. She and Andy took a few steps, trying to walk down the hall to their room, but she was laughing too hard to really go much further._

_Chuckling himself, he wrapped his arms around her and allowed her to sag against the wall. _

"_What is going on?"_

_Meg gazed up at him, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks heated. Asking him to fly out to Spain to see her for 48 hours had been an unthinkable whim. She hadn't expected him to come; his life was busy. But he had simply booked the tickets and shown up. Pavel hadn't been pleased. Having been against the relationship and the focus she was giving to it, he had worried that all her concentration would be blown. So Meg had been vigilant about her attention to her skating. In fact, she'd barely been able to spend time with Andy. Sure, he had lain beside her the night before, but she'd been asleep by ten, and up by six, leaving him to sleep in._

_Their relationship had been…physical…for a few months, but Meg felt like they were always getting to know new things about each other. She had rushed into his bed- she knew that, but she didn't regret it. Not when he was so attentive and focused and made her feel like a princess without stifling her._

"_I'm just happy you're here."_

_It had been almost a month since she had seen him, and she had wanted to all but beg him to fly to Spain. She had missed him more than she had on any other trip away from him, and that made her all the more desperate to hold on to the happiness that she felt. _

"_I'm happy I'm here too."_

_All of a sudden, the mood changed. The air seemed to crackle with electricity and Meg became ultra aware of him. He moved his arms to lay a palm on each side of her head, against the wall, leaning into her. She could smell his cologne, smell his own scent under it, the fragrance that was uniquely his, made even more pronounced by the hot and humid air. He'd gone without his glasses that night, instead wearing his contacts. Looking into his green eyes, Meg felt herself float away, forgetting that they were in the middle of the hallway and that they were only a few feet from Amilee and Lissa's door. _

"_Do you like my friends?"_

"_I love your friends."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah."_

_He leaned in and kissed her lightly, unconcerned about their surroundings as well. Meg wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him, continuing with the kiss till they were both breathless and panting a little bit. _

_Andy cupped her face in his hand, then let his fingers trail down her neck, shoulders and arm till he held her hand. Slowly, he began to walk backwards down the hallway, pulling her with him. Turning around, he walked them to her room and unlocked the door with the passkey, leading her inside the room. _

_The walls were mocha and the bed sheets white, the balcony door open and letting in the night breeze. Andy didn't bother with the lights, but backed her to the bed, where Meg toed off her shoes and knelt on the edge of the queensize monstrosity, while Andy stood in front of her. The moonlight lit up the room as she tilted one head to the side, studying his face in detail. _

"_Why did you come out here."_

_He ran the backs of two fingers up and down her upper arm, then put his hand in her hair, slowly caressing her skin behind her ear._

"_How could I not?"_

_She put her hands to his chest and slowly undid the buttons on the white linen shirt, slipping it off his shoulders and letting it pile on the floor. He must have toed off his sandals, because when she undid the belt buckle and khaki's, he allowed the pants to slip down so he could step out of them, leaving him in his boxers. Very slowly, Andy unbuttoned her white blouse, pulling her arms up as he took it over her head, and letting his eyes roam over her form. Meg found the zipper at her side and unzipped the blue skirt to pool on the bed, making no move to remove it from her knees. _

"_Andy…"_

_His lips skimmed her neck, and he pulled back to look at her, sensing she needed something._

"_What, baby?"_

_She bit her lip, looking down, but then brought her gaze to meet his._

"_For how long?"_

_For one long moment, they just stared at each other, understanding the weight of her question. Then, he cradled her face in his hands and smiled a little._

"_Till you're finished with it."_

"_And if that doesn't happen?"_

"_Then it won't end."_

_She smiled, then reached up to wrap herself around him before sinking backwards onto the bed and bringing him with her._

----

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